Prince William and his wife Kate are expecting their
third child, Kensington Palace announced Monday, as
she was forced to cancel a public event due to acute
morning sickness.
The 35-year-old is again suffering from hyperemesis
gravidarum, a condition that plagued her two
previous pregnancies, and is being treated at home.
She has not yet reached the 12-week stage when
women normally make the news public but made the
announcement after being unable to attend an event
in London on Monday afternoon, a spokeswoman
said.
William, also 35, is second in line to the throne and
the new baby will be fifth in line, pushing William's
younger brother Harry down the order of succession.
"Their royal highnesses the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge are very pleased to announce that the
Duchess of Cambridge is expecting their third child,"
the palace said in a statement.
Queen Elizabeth II, William's grandmother, and his
father Prince Charles were said to be "delighted" at
the news, while Harry said he was "very, very happy
for them".
The news comes as William and Kate's eldest child,
four-year-old Prince George, who is third in line to the
throne, prepares to start school in London on
Thursday.
The couple also have a daughter, two-year-old
Princess Charlotte.
The palace declined to say when the new baby was
due, but a spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that Kate
"hasn't reached the 12-week stage yet".
Many women wait until they are 12 weeks pregnant
to announce the news, due to the risk of miscarriage.
"As with her previous two pregnancies, the Duchess is
suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum," the official
palace statement said.
"Her royal highness will no longer carry out her
planned engagement at the Hornsey Road Children's
Centre in London today.
"The Duchess is being cared for at Kensington
Palace."
Kate was only around a month pregnant with
Charlotte when the news was announced, again
because she had to cancel a public engagement.
- 'Have more babies' -
Prime Minister Theresa May was quick to offer her
congratulations, saying: "This is fantastic news."
Speaking at an event in Manchester, Harry said it
was "great" that he was going to be an uncle again,
and said of Kate: "I think she's okay."
Kate was hospitalised with hyperemesis gravidarum
during her first pregnancy in 2012, while it also
forced her to cancel a trip to Malta when she was
pregnant with Charlotte in 2014.
William and Kate moved back to London from their
rural home in eastern England this summer as they
take over more engagements from the ageing senior
royals.
The 91-year-old queen has reduced her public events
in recent years and Prince Philip, her 96-year-old
husband, officially retired in August.
William gave up his job as an air ambulance pilot in
July and relocated his family from Anmer Hall in
Norfolk to their apartment at Kensington Palace.
There has long been speculation that the couple
would like a third child.
On a royal tour of Poland in July, the duchess -- who
herself is one of three children -- joked about having
another after being given a cuddly toy designed to
soothe tiny babies.
Saying thank you for the present, she turned to
William and joked: "We will just have to have more
babies."
Hyperemesis gravidarum causes excessive nausea
and vomiting and affects around one in every 100
pregnant women, according to the state-run National
Health Service (NHS).
Some women report being sick up to 50 times a day,
and while most common in early pregnancy,
symptoms can continue throughout the nine months
Source: AFP
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