Prince William, Kate expecting third child
September 4, 2017
Kensington Palace has announced that the Duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton, is pregnant with her third child. The news came after the duchess was forced to cancel an afternoon appointment on Monday due to a bout of severe morning sickness.
That is bound to spark speculation over the baby's gender - though Kate, 35, also endured morning sickness with her first two children. She and Prince William are already parents to a boy, 4-year-old Prince George, and a girl, 2-year-old Princess Charlotte.
Read more:Happy birthday, Prince George! Who's the cutest royal baby?
Queen Elizabeth, the children's great-grandmother, is "delighted" at the news, added the palace in a statement.
The new baby will be fifth in line to the throne.
The announcement comes just days after the 20th anniversary of the tragic death of Prince William's mother, Princess Diana, on August 31, 1997. While there was no official memorial ceremony, the event was widely remembered in the media around the world.
Read more:How 'Candle in the Wind' became an anthem to Princess Diana
This year also marks a major event for the royal family as the House of Windsor celebrates its centennial. The family's name was changed to Windsor on July 17, 1917 amid anti-German sentiment in the throes of World War I. Of German origin, they had previously been known as Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
kbm/cmk (AP, AFP)