- Duchess of Cambridge, 31, is believed to be 13 to 14 weeks pregnant
- Confirmation of birth month means it's likely she's had 12-week scan
- She was admitted to hospital last month with acute morning sickness
- Statement from St James's Palace confirms she's not expecting twins
By Rebecca English, Mark Duell and Alice Azania Jarvis
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Appearance: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge viewed a new portrait of Kate in London last Friday
The Duchess of Cambridge is to take up to another month off from public duties as she prepares for the birth of her first child in July.
Palace officials said yesterday that Kate, 31, does not plan to be seen in public for several weeks.
However, they said she expects to resume official engagements ‘in the near future’.
Kate cancelled all her commitments in December after she spent three nights in hospital battling acute morning sickness.
There was a surprise appearance at the BBC Sports Personality of th e Year awards shortly before Christmas and last week she attended the unveiling of her official portrait with Prince William.
Now, however, she will be doing her best to have as much rest as possible.
Yesterday St James’s Palace confirmed that the royal couple’s baby will be born in July.
Officials refused to give the exact due date but, assuming the Duchess conceived last October, shortly after returning home from her South Pacific tour, the baby is likely to be born towards the middle of the month.
Kate has now had her crucial 12-week scan and doctors have told her the baby is healthy.
The new third-in-line-to-the-throne will be born under the star sign of Cancer, assuming he or she arrives between June 21 and July 22.
Cancerians â€" including Prince William’s mother Diana, who was born on July 1, and his stepmother Camilla who celebrates her bir thday on July 17 â€" are said to be ‘soft, sensitive and affectionate’.
‘Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to confirm they are expecting a baby in July,’ a St James’s Palace spokesman said yesterday.
‘The Duchess’s condition continues to improve since her stay in hospital last month.’
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Getting better: Prince William and the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge on December 6, pictured leaving the King Edward VII Hospital in central London, which had been treating Kate for acute morning sickness
WHEN WILL ROYAL BABY ARRIVE?
The Duchess is favoured by bookmakers to give birth on Wednesday July 17 this year.
Ladbrokes is giving odds of 4/1 on that date, and 6/1 the day before, or 7/1 the day after.
And as an outside bet, the bookmaker is offering 40/1 that the new baby arrives on July 1 - to share the same birthday with Diana, Princess of Wales. Betters can get 5/1 on any date in June or 10/1 on any date in August.
Elizabeth and Diana are joint favourites for the baby’s name at 8/1, followed by George at 9/1, and Charles or Victoria at 10/1.
You can also get 12/1 on Frances or John and 14/1 on Anne, James, Mary or Phillip.
Those fancying a long shot can bet that both the Royal arrival and the baby of U.S. celebrity couple Kim Kardashian and Kanye West will enter the world on the same day at 66/1.
But excitement amongst punters over the royal baby left William Hill counting the cost, as July had been its even money favourite.
A William Hill spokesman said: 'We can only hope that they don't have a baby with ginger hair (at 4/1) as that would break the bank.'
A spokesman also confirmed, given speculation that Kate was expecting twins, that it was most definitely not a multiple pregnancy.
The 12-week stage of pregnancy sees some of the most signifcant changes in the baby’s development. Its reflexes start to kick in, fingers open and close and it starts to make sucking movements.
From crown to rump, the foetus will measure just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weigh around half an ounce. The mother-to-be may or may not start ‘showing’ but will at least see her waist start to thicken.
It is too early to say at this stage whether the baby is a boy or a girl â€" that becomes apparent during the 20-week scan â€" but it is likely that William and Kate, like other royals, will prefer to wait until the birth to find out.
Royal sources said they could not confirm yet where the baby would be born but it is understood that the Queen’s surgeon-gynaecologist Marcus Setchell will be monitoring the pregnancy as will the surgeon-gynaecologist to the Royal Household, Alan Farthing, former fiancé of murdered television presenter Jill Dando.
Traditionally members of the Royal Family have given birth at home, although this is unlikely given that Kate has not had the easiest pregnancy so far.
Prince William became the first future King to be born in a hospital, when he arrived at the private Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.
HEIR WHO WAS PLANNED ON THEIR SOUTH PACIFIC TOUR
The baby is most likely to have been conceived in early to mid-October, shortly after William and Kate returned from their Diamond Jubilee tour of the South Pacific.
Sources have told the Mail the Duchess was not pregnant or actively trying for a baby during the two-week trip due to the anti-malaria medication that she was taking, drugs that she would needed for a further week after returning home on September 20.
Given that Kate is around 13 to 14 weeks pregnant, she would have conceived either at their homes in Anglesey or London.
At the time the couple had a series of public engagements including a visit to Middle Temple Inn in London to launch a schol arship scheme in their names on October 8.
The following day they visited the FA’s new training centre at St George’s Park in Staffordshire.
On October 10 the Duchess was in Newcastle and Stockton-on-Tees while her husband attended the funeral of his former nanny, Olga Powell.
That evening they met for a private dinner at the LouLou club in Mayfair. The following day the prince made a solo appearance at a dinner at St James’s Palace.
Looking healthy: The Duchess of Cambridge was at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards at the ExCeL Arena in London last month
KATE'S PREGNANCY: A TIMELINE
December 3
- 4:00pm: St James's Palace announces the Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby and has been admitted to hospital
- 8:20pm: Duke of Cambridge leaves hospital where his wife is being treated
December 4
- 5:30am: Australian 2Day FM DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian call hospital and find out details of Kate's condition
- 11.30am: Duke of Cambridge arrives at hospital for his second visit then leaves at 5:45pm
December 5
- 11:15am: King Edward VII Hospital confirms it fell victim to prank call and issues apology
- 12.15pm: Pri nce William arrives at hospital for his third visit then leaves shortly after 5pm
- 12:30pm: Church of England issues prayer for Royal couple
- 3:45pm: Pippa and James Middleton arrive at the hospital and leave at 5pm
- 7:30pm: Carole Middleton arrives to visit and leaves at 9pm
December 6
- 10:15am: Prince William arrives at the hospital to see Kate
- 10:45am: Kate is discharged from hospital and leaves with Prince William
December 7
- 9.25am: Nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who took hoax call at King Edward VII Hospital, is found dead at nurses' accommodation
December 16
- 10:20pm: The Duchess presents a prize at t he BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards at the ExCel Centre in London
January 11
- 10:00am: The Royal couple view a new portrait of Kate at a gallery in London
January 14
- 11:00am: St James's Palace confirms Kate is due to give birth to a baby in July
The baby will, following a ruling by the Queen last week, become an HRH and a Prince or Princess.
The Mail also understands that the Cambridges will still be ‘between homes’ at the time of the birth.
Their new 20-room apartment in Kensington Palace will almost certainly not be ready meaning they will take their new son or daughter back to Nottingham Cottage in the palace grounds, a ‘cosy’ two-bedroom home.
The Duchess was less than eight weeks pregnant and staying with her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, at their £4.85million country mansion in Berkshire when she fell ill at the beginning of December.
As her condition worsened and she began to become severely dehydrated, the decision was made to admit her to the King Edward VII Hospital in Marylebone, central London, for treatment on December 3.
Doctors diagnosed her with hyperemesis gravidarum, an acute form of pregnancy-related sickness.
Later that day the palace reluctantly announced details of her pregnancy, stressing that she was well under the crucial 12-week stage at which such pronouncements are normally made.
Although she and William had not wanted to make their happy news public at such an early stage, the couple felt they had no choice as her absence from public duties was likely to spark a flurry of speculation on social media and online.
Kate remained in hospital for three nights - leaving on December 6 - and cancelled all her forthcoming engagements, except for a surprise appearance at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards in London, shortly before Christmas.
She and William also chose not to join the rest of the Royal Family for Christmas in favour of a quiet family celebration with the Middleton clan.
However they subsequently drove to Sandringham on Boxing Day to join the royals’ tradition pheasant shoot.
While Kate was in hospital last month, a nurse took a hoax phone call from two Australian radio DJs impersonating the Royal Family and put them through to the Duchess's ward.
The nurse, Jacintha Saldanha, was later found hanged on December 7.
Kate was last seen in public last Friday when she visited the National Portrait Gallery in London with William for the unveiling of her first official portrait.
She looked well and smiled during the brief appearance, with some commentators spotting the start of a slight baby bump.
SHARING A STAR SIGN WITH DIANA?
The new Royal baby could share a star sign with Princess Diana
The new royal baby will be in fine company. Princess Diana was born on July 1 and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, was born on the 17th.
But what might a July birthday mean for a child who â€" boy or girl â€" will be third in line to the throne?
July babies are thought to have particularly sunny, happy dispositions.
This natural cheerfulness, according to a US study, may be due to exposure to sunlight in the earliest weeks and months of life.
The mood-boosting Vitamin D produced by the sun is thought to set summer babies up with an soptimistic outlook on life. (Not necessarily quite like November-born Grandad Charles then.)
Depending on precisely when in the month the birth falls, the baby will either be a Cancer (June 22-July 22) or a Leo (July 23-22 August). Both starsigns are said to produce good leaders â€" a quality essential in the futu re heir to the throne.
Cancerians, such as the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela, are said to be emotionally intelligent and pragmatic. Leos, among them U.S. Presidents Obama and Clinton, are regarded by astrologers as ambitious, but generous with their time and energies.
The greatest of Roman emperors, Julius Caesar, was also born in the month of July, giving the month its modern name. Â
Well-wishers wanting to bestow gifts on the royal baby might take their inspiration from the July birth flower, larkspur â€" which is said to symbolise open-heartedness and a fertile imagination â€" or the July birthstone ruby, which has for centuries symbolised wealth, love, passion, joy and power.
The July birthstone is also good news for the new arrival’s future romantic prospects: ruby babies are thought to grow up to be particularly lucky in love.
As one anonymo us 19th-century poem puts it: ‘The glowing ruby shall adorn, Those who in July are born; Then they’ll be exempt and free, From love’s doubts and anxiety.’
But it isn’t all positive â€" an Israeli study of 300,000 military applicants found that July babies were more likely to suffer short-sightedness than those born in winter. One theory holds that sunshine interferes with the delicate development of the eye.
July babies are also said to be more prone to asthma and autism, though scientists are still trying to work out why.
As for schooling, several studies have shown that those born during the summer tend to have lower levels of academic attainment, since they are inevitably among the youngest in their class, and can be as much as ten months younger than their peers in the same school year.
Research for the Institute for Fiscal Studies in 2011 concluded that babies born in summer are more likely to be regarded as below average by their teachers in reading, writing and maths, and are less likely to go to a Russell Group University.
SUMMER BABIES 'ENJOY SCHOOL LESS' BUT AREN'T TEENAGE TEARAWAYS
Set to arrive in July, the royal baby is less likely to do well at school say researchers.
Studies show children born in July or August often get lower GCSE grades than those who are born in September.
But the same research says summer babies are also less likely to drink or smoke during their teenage years as well.
Ellen Greaves, research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: 'It's surprising that the differences are there at GCSE age.
'It may suggest that there is something happening at school. They are the youngest throughout - maybe their confidence suffers?
'But we've also found that children born in the summer months are less likely to take on risky behaviour such as smoking or drinking in their teenage years, which is a positive aspect.'
Mumsnet founder and CEO Justine Roberts stressed the benefits of having a summer baby.
'The most common concern of parents expecting a summer baby is that he or she will be the youngest in the school year, affecting confidence and success at school,' she said.
'But there's no doubt it's lovely to get to grips with motherhood in the summertime - no need to worry about wrapping your baby up in multiple layers, fewer nasty bugs flying around, and plenty of opportunities to get out and enjoy the fresh air together.'
NEW BABY ENTITLED TO BE 'PRINCESS' IF KATE AND WILLS HAVE DAUGHTER
Letters Patent: The Queen has already acted to ensure the new baby will be entitled to be a Princess
The Queen has already acted to ensure the new baby - a future King or Queen - will be entitled to be a Princess if William and Kate have a daughter.
Under past rules, a daughter would have been styled Lady instead and not known as Her Royal Highness - only a first-born boy born to the Cambridges would automatically have become a Prince.
The Queen has issued a Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm declaring: 'All the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of royal highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names or with such other titles of honour.'
A Letters Patent in 1917, issued by William's great great grandfather King George V, limited titles within the Royal Family.
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