Kate Middleton Makes Plans for Her Third Childbirth: “She Feels Like She’s in Very Safe Hands”

Katie Nicholl
Updated

The Duchess of Cambridge recently joked that her husband was “in denial” about the impending birth of their third child, but Kate has been busily planning for the imminent arrival.

With just weeks to go until her April due date, Kate has decided that she will have her third baby at the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Paddington, where both Prince George and Princess Charlotte were born. There had been speculation that the duchess was considering a home birth, but royal sources say that she has opted for a hospital delivery and that a suite is all ready and sealed off ahead of the royal birth.

Kate has been busily clocking up engagements ahead of her maternity leave. On Tuesday, she visited a primary school in Oxford, and Wednesday morning, she opened up the new headquarters of her charity, Place2Be, resplendent in a recycled maternity dress by French label Séraphine. Royal sources say the duchess will remain busy for the rest of March but plans to slow down her official duties next month.

While the exact due date is not known, Kate is expected to give birth in late April with the Sun newspaper reporting that Kate and Prince William are working towards an April 23 date, which happens to be St. George’s Day. It is understood that Kate will be under the care of obstetrician Guy Thorpe-Beeston who helped her deliver Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

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Says a source: “She has decided that she will be having the baby at the Lindo Wing. The room is all booked, the team are ready and everyone is just waiting for the baby to come. They have had two very positive experiences at the Lindo Wing so it’s the No. 1 choice. She knows the team and she feels like she’s in very safe hands.”

The couple have a team of doctors on call, now that the duchess is well into her third trimester of her pregnancy. According to Professor Tiong Ghee Teoh, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist at St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, the duchess had a backup team of more than 20 doctors and nurses on call for her previous two births which included two obstetricians, three midwives, three anesthetists, four theatre staff, two special-care baby unit staff, four pediatricians, one laboratory technician to check blood samples, and four senior managers.

While her labor with George was a long one, Kate was in and out of hospital within a day when she had Charlotte and she is hoping for a similarly straightforward and swift birth this third time around. Sources say that the couple’s staff have been overseeing a redesign of the nursery at Kensington Palace to accommodate their third baby and that the couple do not know the sex of their third child. Given how high Kate is carrying, the smart money is on her having a girl.

Kate Middleton’s Most Striking Looks in Her Third Pregnancy

October 10: For Kate’s first appearance following the announcement of her third pregnancy: a light blue lacy dress. (Get ready for a whole lot of blue, you guys. More consecutive blue than you’ve probably dealt with for some time.)
October 17: Ah, here we have a blue coat over a black turtleneck (though we must admit to being distracted by the extreme number of gold buttons on display here).

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October 17: Ah, here we have a blue coat over a black turtleneck (though we must admit to being distracted by the extreme number of gold buttons on display here).
By Dominic Lipinski/PA Images/Getty Images.
November 24: As if this stunning gown—worn to the Royal Variety Performance—wasn’t enough of a showstopper, she held these flowers that look like a work of art on their own.

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November 24: As if this stunning gown—worn to the Royal Variety Performance—wasn’t enough of a showstopper, she held these flowers that look like a work of art on their own.
By Karwai Tang/WireImage.
December 14: A darker blue on display here! This is a rare fully matching look from Kate (the gloves! The handbag! The hat!) that is frankly killer.

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December 14: A darker blue on display here! This is a rare fully matching look from Kate (the gloves! The handbag! The hat!) that is frankly killer.
By Chris Jackson/Getty Images.
January 10: We’re now in 2018: a new year, but the same Kate, and the same unwavering preference for blue.

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January 10: We’re now in 2018: a new year, but the same Kate, and the same unwavering preference for blue.
By Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock.
January 10: Later that same day, this outfit perhaps stretches our “only blue!” rule for this journey, but no one can argue there is not some of the color incorporated into the pattern of this dress.
January 23: The dress is a powerful shade, for sure, but that scarf is really what grabs the eye here. It’s not often Kate goes for a funky scarf, so it should be properly appreciated.

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January 23: The dress is a powerful shade, for sure, but that scarf is really what grabs the eye here. It’s not often Kate goes for a funky scarf, so it should be properly appreciated.
By Samir Hussein/WireImage.
January 23: Giving a speech later that day, the funky scarf sadly removed.

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January 23: Giving a speech later that day, the funky scarf sadly removed.
By JONATHAN BRADY/AFP/Getty Images.
January 24: In a piercingly vibrant light blue coat, Kate looks positively jazzed to be walking into an event, rain be damned.

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January 24: In a piercingly vibrant light blue coat, Kate looks positively jazzed to be walking into an event, rain be damned.
By Karwai Tang/WireImage.
January 31: This is our first blue look from the Sweden-Norway tour. And, generally, this is a whole lot more look than we are used to from Kate, and we will let you decide for yourself what to make of it.
February 1: Deplaning in Norway in style.

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February 1: Deplaning in Norway in style.
By Nigel Waldron/Getty Images.
February 1: C’mon, we could write literally anything about the coat here; we know you’re not going to be able to stare at anything other than Kate’s hat.

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February 1: C’mon, we could write literally anything about the coat here; we know you’re not going to be able to stare at anything other than Kate’s hat.
By Arthur Edwards/WPA Pool/Getty Images.
February 1: To meet Norway’s king and queen, we have Kate in blue yet again! (In case it hasn’t fully registered, she has really been wearing a whole lot of blue this pregnancy.)

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February 1: To meet Norway’s king and queen, we have Kate in blue yet again! (In case it hasn’t fully registered, she has really been wearing a whole lot of blue this pregnancy.)
By Samir Hussein/WireImage.
February 7: Back in London following the royal tour, and still living for blue.

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February 7: Back in London following the royal tour, and still living for blue.
By Karwai Tang/WireImage.