St James’s Palace has announced that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their first child.

Duches Of Cambridge Kate  is certainly no stranger to the royal baby buzz. But this week it reached a feverish pitch as the Duchess stepped out for several public appearances.

It’s not that Kate’s sporting a baby bump, she’s not in the least.

But there are other subtle signs, many of them evidenced by photos  that Kate Middleton and Prince William may soon be announcing some happy, and very highly anticipated, baby news.

Buckingham Palace/Clarence House announced Monday that the duchess and Prince William are expecting an heir to the throne.

The recurrent headline had become increasingly persistent in recent months, with the slightest lump in dress fabric or change in hairstyle generating a frenzied round of pregnancy rumors.

This will be the first grandchild for both the royal and Middleton families.

The duchess was admitted Monday to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with hyperemesis gravidarum (or severe morning sickness), according to a release from the palace. As the pregnancy is in its “very early stages,” Kate will stay in hospital for several days, the palace said.

As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, she is expected to remain there for the next few days.

Prime Minister David Cameron took to Twitter to congratulate the royal couple.

“I’m delighted by the news that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting a baby. They will make wonderful parents,” he tweeted.

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