UK's Prince William and Catherine expecting a baby

[Sue]

Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine are expecting a baby, destined to be the country's future monarch, the prince's office said on Monday.

"Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby," the office said in a statement.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/uks-prince-...161223071.html

Finally the tabloids have it right.

Hope it's a girl .

[Chloe]

Oh, God. So much for efforts to move through life while getting as little news about royal celebrities as possible. It's going to be unstoppable.

[Sue]

Originally Posted by Chloe

Oh, God. So much for efforts to move through life while getting as little news about royal celebrities as possible. It's going to be unstoppable.

I am amazed at how big a deal the US tabloids (and even the mainstream news sources) make of any royal related news. I mean it's understandable here in Canada but in the US?

[Moku]

I'm curious, any particular reason you are hoping for a girl, Sue?

[Sue]

Originally Posted by Moku

I'm curious, any particular reason you are hoping for a girl, Sue?

From the OP:

Last year Britain and other Commonwealth countries which have the queen as their monarch agreed to change the rules of royal succession so that males would no longer have precedence as heir, regardless of age.

I like that girls will no longer be passed over because of a younger brother.

[Lainie]

She's been hospitalizated with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Originally Posted by Sue

I mean it's understandable here in Canada but in the US?

For the same reason our children play with Barbies and paper dolls. They're pretty, and fun to look at in the different outfits.

[Chloe]

I wouldn't call the royal family pretty on the whole, though they do seem to marry pretty.

[DotBat]

A spokeswoman for the couple said 30-year-old Catherine ... was in the King Edward VII Hospital in central London suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum, an acute morning sickness...

How awful. I hope the pregnancy goes smoothly despite the HG.

[Stephra]

I was a kid when the media went through this phase with Princess Di. It's really weird seeing it all over again.

[ToadMagnet]

Originally Posted by Lainie

She's been hospitalizated with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).

Yikes. Didn't one of our snopesters almost die from that?

[Lainie]

It can be very serious, and my WAG is that stress doesn't help, so let's hope the media are appropriately respectful of boundaries. (ha!)

That said, I did giggle a bit at Alexander Petri's listing "Wallis Simpson" as a possible name for the baby.

[Zorro]

Originally Posted by ToadMagnet

Yikes. Didn't one of our snopesters almost die from that?

Yes, Pallas Athena.

[Andrew of Ware]

Originally Posted by Sue

I like that girls will no longer be passed over because of a younger brother.

The article in the OP was being a bit premature in saying that

Last year Britain and other Commonwealth countries which have the queen as their monarch agreed to change the rules of royal succession so that males would no longer have precedence as heir, regardless of age.

Although agreement had been reached the bill to enable it to become law has yet to be introduced into Parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the government would now introduce the Succession to the Crown Bill in the House of Commons as soon as possible.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20600543

I can't see any problems in the bill becoming law before the child is born. In my opinion this is a law that should have been passed a long time ago. Incidentally, I know this is convention rather than law, but I wonder if husbands of reigning queens will, in future be called king. At present they are just called princes, as in Prince Albert or Prince Philip. Wives of reigning kings are always called queens.

[Chloe]

Would kings no longer outrank queens, then?

[GaryM]

Originally Posted by Chloe

Would kings no longer outrank queens, then?

Kings don't outranks queens now.

[DawnStorm]

Bookies have already posted odds on names from what I've heard.

[Psihala]

Kate Middleton is not even 12 weeks pregnant and the world is acting like no one has ever been "with child" before.

In addition to being the subject of speculation on whether she's having twins, what she'll name the baby, what the baby might look like and how she could decorate her nursery, she's already being offered parenting advice -- and from who else, but Snooki.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1..._hp_ref=snooki

[GaryM]

Originally Posted by GaryM

Kings don't outranks queens now.

Just realised this was ambiguous. What I meant was that in the British order of precedence kings didn't outrank queens before the new bill, so nothing's changed.

[Chloe]

Originally Posted by GaryM

Kings don't outranks queens now.

Then why is a king's wife a queen and a queen's husband a prince consort?