# Kate Middleton is pregnant **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 3, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859 "2012-12-03T16:15:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/141 "2012-12-04T19:26:09Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > What’s this “Princess Regent”? She’ll be a Queen Consort - and since William is most definitely of age to take over, there’s zero chance Camilla will ever be a regent. According to the official Prince of Wales website, Camilla will be known as HRH The Princess Consort when Charles becomes king. [Princess Consort](http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/faqs/will-the-duchess-become-queen-when-the-prince-becomes-king) ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/142 "2012-12-04T19:35:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Oh, I didn’t know that they had been living together. So they did get a few years of privacy before marriage. They got together when they were undergraduates at St. Andrews. There was some sort of agreement with the hounds of the British press that Prince William would be left alone while he was there. As far as I can tell, they’ve pretty much lived together since then\*, with a few months of split-up in their mid-twenties. That strikes me as a pretty normal relationship, particularly by British royalty standards. - for whatever value of “living together” you care to assign to the arrangements made by people at that level of wealth and privilege ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/143 "2012-12-04T19:51:57Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Will this news add impetus to the talk / wish to have the throne skip a generation and pass directly to Wills? I would consider it a reason not to do that. It’s hard enough being the father of a young child without worrying that you’re a heartbeat away from the throne at all times. ---
**Author:** ![Butterscotch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Butterscotch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Butterscotch)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/144 "2012-12-04T20:12:35Z")
How about Austerity for a girl…? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/145 "2012-12-04T20:27:20Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > And so it does to many Swedes as well. However, it’s in honour of [Estelle Bernadotte](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estelle_Bernadotte), who had been married to [Folke Bernadotte](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folke_Bernadotte), diplomat and cousin (I think) of the king’s father, who was assasinated by the Stern gang in Jerusalem in connection with the founding of Israel. Mrs Bernadotte was a very beloved aunt in the royal family, I understand. It sounds very pretty in French or in Spanish… _su majestad, Estrella de Suecia_ (Star of Sweden). ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/146 "2012-12-04T20:55:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Is there an obvious order the surgeon should remove twins during a c-section?.. > > > [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > > > If you’ll pardon the phrasing, I guess it’s just whichever is on top? > > > > (slightly concerned by your username, and the fact you’re in the UK - I didn’t used to be married to you, did I?) 😛 You’ve got that backwards -as a father of C-section twins. The C-Section traditionally is done very low on the belly, so whichever twin is closer to the bottom is going to come out first. So for ours, girl was on the bottom, girl was out first. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/147 "2012-12-04T21:52:17Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > According to the official Prince of Wales website, Camilla will be known as HRH The Princess Consort when Charles becomes king. > > [Princess Consort](http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/faqs/will-the-duchess-become-queen-when-the-prince-becomes-king) Huh. I did not know that. Still a long way from being a Regent, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/148 "2012-12-04T21:57:23Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > She’s the first QE of the United Kingdom, regardless of what the Sassenachs say. Bollocks. We beat your sorry arses in 1745 so you do as you’re told. Or else become independent and have sod-all say in the nomenclature of foreign monarchs. 😛 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/149 "2012-12-04T22:02:57Z")
Will Camilla be the first ever princess consort? IIRC, others have been queen consorts. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/150 "2012-12-05T00:05:02Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > [Problem to be solved imminently](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20600543) (SFW - link to BBC news). Wish the government would move this fast on other stuff… [Canada](http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/03/royal-succession-commonwealth-canada_n_2233615.html) might be problematic. It could be as simple as passing an act of Parliament, or it could require a constitutional amendment (which means _unanimous_ consent by the provinces). Quebec could hold things up for the entire Commonwealth. My WAG is that Harper will send a reference to the Supreme Court. > [@sciurophobic](#): > > According to the official Prince of Wales website, Camilla will be known as HRH The Princess Consort when Charles becomes king. > > [Princess Consort](http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/faqs/will-the-duchess-become-queen-when-the-prince-becomes-king) > [@LavenderBlue](#): > > Will Camilla be the first ever princess consort? IIRC, others have been queen consorts. She can herself whatever she wants (with her husband’s permission), but barring an act of Parliament to the contrary she’ll legally & automatically become the queen. The king can’t use the royal prerogative to prevent that. George IV found that out much to his displeasure. He couldn’t stop his enstranged wife, Caroline of Brunswick, from becoming Queen. All he could do was deny her an allowance & bar for from the coronation; he needed to start divorce proceeding in the House of Lords to strip her of her title. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/151 "2012-12-05T00:15:18Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Morbid question: if Elizabeth, Charles, and William were to all die before the baby was born, I assume he/she get skipped in the line of succession and Harry becomes king. But suppose the new child is a day old and the three people in front all kick the royal bucket- could there be an infant monarch? Well, all it would have to do is to make smiley faces and wave a hand around. Probably most infants could do that. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/152 "2012-12-05T00:23:18Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Not James - Edward already has a son called James. > > The boy should be Steve or Barry. The girl should be Donna or Gemma. Completely buck all the current naming trends. Or Sharon or Tracy or Kylie. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/153 "2012-12-05T00:28:03Z")
> [@RealOmegaMan](#): > > Slightly off topic 😉 > > If its a girl and they call her Elizabeth. Then at least Scotland would finally get a Queen Elizabeth the 2nd unlike the current monarch. > > Annoys me when i see all this QE2 nonsense in Scotland she is QE1 to us 😉 Right on, pal! 🙂 But the QE2 was quite a good big boat, I suppose. And I had a sneaky unofficial day off to see it launched, so that was good. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/154 "2012-12-05T01:19:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m puzzled why the couple didn’t enjoy a few years of marriage before having a child. These days the pill makes it easy to plan these things How about because female fertility starts to fall after the mid-20’s (yes, really it does) and any women for whom bearing children is a high priority would do well to get serious about it by 30 at the latest. Kate is 30, correct? Waiting “a few years” would put her darn close to 35, which is an age where the risks for childbearing go up and fertility really starts to go down. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/155 "2012-12-05T02:04:32Z")
Since we are in tasteless speculation already, what happens if the little bundle of joy has, say, Downs? Has any thought been given to that sort of thing? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/156 "2012-12-05T02:22:08Z")
Let’s cut the crap - do we get an extra bank holiday out of this or not? We had one this year, I think we had one last year, and if we get one next year I am hoping that it will cement the notion of a “royal something-or-other” bank holiday to be held every year for reasons that no one can quite remember. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/157 "2012-12-05T03:20:11Z")
Regarding the question of whether a future brother would outrank her if this child turns out to be a girl, BBC TV keeps reporting that it is, in fact, already a done deal that the law has been changed and this little one will be the future monarch regardless of gender and regardless of any future siblings. You’d think they’d know. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/158 "2012-12-05T06:21:01Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Regarding the question of whether a future brother would outrank her if this child turns out to be a girl, BBC TV keeps reporting that it is, in fact, already a done deal that the law has been changed and this little one will be the future monarch regardless of gender and regardless of any future siblings. **You’d think they’d know.** Well, you would think they should know, but now they’re backtracking a bit. Maybe I misunderstood before – and I don’t think I did – but suddenly they’re saying the expectant couple are now being assured the law will be pushed through very, very soon. Either way, it’s certain the child will be a future monarch. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/159 "2012-12-05T09:21:39Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Well, you would think they should know, but now they’re backtracking a bit. Maybe I misunderstood before – and I don’t think I did – but suddenly they’re saying the expectant couple are now being assured the law will be pushed through very, very soon. Either way, it’s certain the child will be a future monarch. I’ve been following the BBC and didn’t see any reports about the law having already passed - in the UK, we all _know_ it hasn’t, just that it’s in the pipeline. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859/160 "2012-12-05T09:40:17Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I’ve been following the BBC and didn’t see any reports about the law having already passed - in the UK, we all _know_ it hasn’t, just that it’s in the pipeline. I probably just misunderstood. But they made it clear this last time that it’s about to be passed pronto. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-is-pregnant/642859.md?page=9)