UK's Prince William and wife Kate expecting baby in April
PUBLISHED ONOctober 20, 2014 10:13 AM
LONDON - The second child of Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate is due to be born in April, his office announced on Monday.
William, grandson of Queen Elizabeth and second-in-line to the throne, announced last month that Kate was expecting a second baby to join Prince George who was born in July last year, but no date for the birth was disclosed at the time.
"Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to confirm they are expecting a baby in April 2015," said a statement from the couple's official residence, Kensington Palace.
It also said the 32-year-old pregnant duchess will make her first public appearance in more than two months on Tuesday at a ceremony in honour of Singaporean President Tony Tan.
The statement from William's office also confirmed that Kate is still suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum, acute morning sickness which causes severe nausea and vomiting and requires supplementary hydration and nutrients.
The condition has caused her to cancel a number of official engagements.
The duchess was last seen at a ceremony at the Tower of London on August 5 in honour of World War I victims and has been suffering from acute morning sickness.
The couple announced they were expecting last month and she has been forced to cancel several engagements since then, including a trip to Malta on what would have been her first solo foreign tour.
The prince's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II has said she is "delighted" at the news, which comes just over a year after the birth of the couple's first child, Prince George.
William and Kate's first child, George Alexander Louis, was born on July 22, 2013 in London's St. Mary's Hospital, weighing eight pounds and six ounces (3.8 kg).
As third in line to the throne and the first child of a celebrity couple, George's arrival sparked a media frenzy and prompted messages of goodwill from around the world.
The new baby will be fourth in line to the throne, pushing William's younger brother Prince Harry down the line of succession into fifth place.
William and Kate have made no secret of wanting another child and it is the convention in aristocratic and royal families to have at least two.
Hugely popular with the public
William has said he is "thrilled" about the new baby.
Kate has been increasing her public profile since she married William in a lavish ceremony in April 2011.
A "commoner" by birth who met the prince at university in Scotland, Kate appears to have moved effortlessly into her royal role and has become hugely popular with the public, as well as a global style icon.
But the couple have worked hard to keep their family life private, after the press intrusion that dominated the final years of William's mother Diana, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 as her car was chased by paparazzi.
They sent a legal warning letter earlier this month to a photographer who was trying to take pictures of toddler George with his nanny.
A spokesman for the duke and duchess said the photographer may have been carrying out "surveillance" of the prince's daily routines and said the baby had to be "removed" from a central London park when the photographer in question got too close.
The royal couple currently live in London after several years spent in Wales while William worked as a Royal Air Force (RAF) search and rescue helicopter pilot.