Kate Middleton is expecting a baby, the palace confirms

PRINCE WILLIAM and his wife Kate Middleton have confirmed they are expecting their first child. "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby," St James’ Palace said in a statement. "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news."

• You read it here first: new hairdo was the clue

The duchess was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital today in central London with hyperemesis gravidarum, an acute morning sickness which requires supplementary hydration and nutrients, reports Sky News.

"As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter," the Palace statement said.

The baby will be the queen's third great-grandchild. As the first child born to William — who is second in line to the throne after his father, Prince Charles —it stands an excellent chance of one day becoming monarch, reports Time.

Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter that he was "delighted by the news," saying the royals "will make wonderful parents."

Only four days ago, the Duchess was playing hockey - in a pair of high heels – when she visited her old prep school, St Andrew’s in Pangbourne, Berkshire. She said her years at the school were among the happiest of her life.

On Friday, The Week wrote about how the Duchess’s new hairdo might be a sign that she was expecting her first child.  There had been baby rumours once before, when she  declined peanut butter at event, but it seems the hairdo-watchers got it right.

In France, Paris Match magazine was first out of the blocks with a photo of the couple taken in the South Pacific this summer, and the cover line: “URGENT. KATE ET WILLIAM ATTENDENT UN BEBE.”

At the time of posting, Closer magazine, which so offended the royal couple by publishing long-lens topless photos of Kate taken in the South of France, had not reported the happy news on its website.

Bookmaker Paddy Power is offering odds of 5-6 on the royal child being a boy and the same odds on it being a girl. ·