Royal Bump Watch — Is Kate Middleton Pregnant With Her Fourth Child?
She has cut back travel and royal watchers wonder why.
Getty Royal watchers in England are currently buzzing over the idea that Kate Middleton might be expecting her fourth child with Prince William. While it doesn't take much for the British tabloids to start saying Kate is pregnant (rumors started because of the way a dress fit her this summer), this time they think there is a real chance that George, Charlotte and Louis may have a new brother or sister coming along soon.
The palace never confirms or denies pregnancy rumors and they aren't doing it this time, either. But the tabloids keep piling up evidence that the couple is looking to add to their family.
They've been scrutinizing Kate's schedule of public appearances and they think she's made some schedule changes that indicate pregnancy. The latest speculation is so strong that bookies in England have increased the odds of a royal baby announcement to four to one.
Is Kate Middleton pregnant again? Read on for everything we know about a possible royal baby.
1. Kate and William already have three children.
William, who is the second in line to the British throne, was under pressure to have children to keep the royal line alive. He and Kate had their first child together in 2013, two years after getting married. Little Prince George was born right into the royal line of succession himself, and he stands to inherit the throne after his grandfather Charles and dad William serve as King someday.
His great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II shows no sign of leaving her throne yet, however. Little sister Charlotte joined George in 2015 and baby Louis arrived in 2018.
The couple and their three children in June 2019.
2. Pregnancy never goes easy for Kate.
Kate really seems to love being a mum, as they say in England, but the process of having babies isn't easy for the Duchess of Cambridge. She suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness, during each of her pregnancies.
It was so bad when she was expecting George that she was hospitalized, likely because the condition caused dehydration. She had the same syndrome in her two other pregnancies and cancelled a lot of public appearances because of it.
3. Is Kate Middleton pregnant with her fourth child? Here's one clue.
The reason some are wondering if Kate is expecting another baby is that she has stayed home from a trip to the Middle East that William went on recently. Typically, she accompanies her husband on trips like this, but this time William met with leaders in Oman and Kuwait without his wife along. Kate was in London instead, where she was present to meet with world leaders at Buckingham Palace during the recent NATO meeting.
She may have simply stayed behind to be part of the NATO gathering in William's absence, but there was another reason she might have been avoiding Oman. There's currently a travel warning about malaria for the country. People who are pregnant — or who might be trying to get pregnant — are advised to be careful about travel to areas with a malaria risk. If Kate is expecting a new baby, she might want to stay away from Oman.
4. There have been other clues leading to pregnancy suspicions.
In October, the couple visited Pakistan together. They always travel with a posse, but one member of their entourage caught the public's attention: a doctor. They don't typically bring a doctor along with them when they travel, and royal watchers started buzzing like crazy that this might mean Kate is in the early stages of pregnancy.
However, the doctor was also said to be a friend of William's so it's possible that the physician's presence was more about that than about bringing another royal baby into the family.
She also opted not to attend the Tusk Conservation Awards Gala last week. She said she had to bow out "due to the children," but no one specified if she meant current or future children.
5. Friends say Kate does want a fourth baby.
Back in the spring, Kate had allegedly confided to a friend that she would like another baby. "Catherine would like another baby," the unnamed source said. "She loves children and is prepared to put herself through another pregnancy even though [her pregnancies] have been complicated by severe morning sickness in the past."
Kate herself fueled the suspicion that she wants more when she exclaimed over a baby she met during a trip to Northern Ireland. "He’s gorgeous. It makes me feel broody," she said of the infant.
6. Could this be how they plan to repair their relationship?
There have been rumors for months that William's been having an affair. Tabloids in England were reporting William was canoodling with Rose Hanbury while Kate was pregnant with baby Louis. Hanbury and her husband David Rocksavage are friends of the royals and live at an estate not far from theirs.
The couples have socialized and their kids reportedly enjoyed playing together. Then Kate cut Rose off suddenly with no explanation. That's when rumors that Rose and Will were having an affair started and, since then, they haven't stopped. Kate and Will even had their lawyers try and shut the reporting about the chatter down.
Even if the affair never happened, the stress of the rumors might have made the couple want to do something to bring them closer together again. A baby could be just the ticket.
7. Kate does not look pregnant.
Despite what everyone wishes were happening, recent photos of Kate don't seem to bolster rumors of a new royal baby.
In an appearance at a holiday event at the end of November, Kate was wearing a gorgeus red dress with a fitted silhouette. The photos are up on the Kensington Royal Instagram account and, while she looked absolutely beautiful, she didn't look pregnant.
Kate does not look like she's expecting a baby.
Do Kate and William plan to have more children? We won't know for sure until the palace tells us.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. She is the creator of the blog FeminXer and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.