Royal Baby Watch: Where Is Duchess Kate?
Duchess Kate is due to give birth to her second child this month.
— -- The countdown is on for the birth of Prince William and Duchess Kate’s second baby, and Great Britain is coming down again with a case of “Kate Expectations.”
The main question everyone is asking is: Where is Kate? There is the possibility that she is spending her final days before giving birth at the royal family’s home at Kensington Palace.
The duchess could also be biding her time at her parents’ home in Bucklebury, a town nearly 55 miles from London.
While Kate waits, the gates are again up outside the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital, where Kate, 33, is expected to deliver the baby this month.
Instead of the throngs of fans and media that surrounded the hospital nearly two years ago before Kate gave birth to Prince George, the wait for this baby is more subdued.
“Because there are not television cameras outside 24 hours a day, people are not so aware of what’s going on,” said Ingrid Seward, royal contributor for ABC News.
Still, many Brits are counting down the days to the baby’s arrival. “I hope it’s a girl and they name her Lucinda,” one young royal watcher said.
Tourist shops are gearing up for the new baby as well by making room for new trinkets featuring the prince or princess’ face among the stock of Prince George items.
“There’s going to be plates, mugs, key rings, the whole gamut of royal baby souvenirs,” said Phil Dowsing, the manager of Cool Britannia, a U.K.-based souvenir retailer.
Were the baby to be born today, it would make a nice gift for the baby’s great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who turns 89 today.
If not, and if the baby is a girl, royal experts say it would make a nice gift for the baby’s father and grandfather.
“It has been said Prince Charles would love a granddaughter,” Seward said. “And I believe that Kate said William was quite keen to have a little girl.”
Royal sources say Kate and William do not know the baby’s gender.