BabyCentre® predicts Kate carrying a future Queen of England

LONDON, Dec. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Clarence House has announced that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their first child. BabyCentre, the UK's leading pregnancy website has set up a "Royal Baby team" made up of a panel of experts, who will be available for comment throughout the pregnancy, on topics such as hyperemesis gravidarum, which it is reported Kate is suffering from. The experts, who also have access to a wealth of pregnancy related information, have predicted that Catherine is likely to be expecting a baby girl in July, and that, if she is, the baby may well be called Victoria Elizabeth.

BabyCentre's gender prediction calculations, which take into account a couple's age, occupations and marital status, suggests that the royal couple will welcome a baby girl, for a variety of reasons. Not least among these, is that the couple co-habit; a study of 86,000 people found that there were 51.5 per cent female births for those living with a spouse or partner before the child's conception, and 49.9 per cent male births reported by respondents who were not.[ii]

William's job as a search and rescue pilot with the RAF adds to the likeliness of a daughter as studies suggest that men with more stressful occupations or who work as a pilot father more girls.[i] And Catherine's maintenance of her slender figure with a calorie-controlled diet also means that the pitter patter of tiny (female) feet could soon be heard in the halls of Buckingham Palace; a study of British women divided into groups according to their calorie intake found that 55 per cent of women with the lowest energy intake conceived girls.[ii]  

The sex of Catherine and William's firstborn will be of particular significance as for the first time in history a first-born daughter would take precedence over younger brothers.

Sasha Miller, the International Managing Editor for BabyCentre, comments:  "For any parent, having your first baby is life-changing. For William and Catherine their firstborn could change the future of this country.

"Our Royal Baby team of pregnancy and parenting experts has been set up today to cater to the inevitable interest around Kate's pregnancy. We are preparing ourselves for a 'Royal baby effect' as expectant mums across the country, or indeed around the world will want to emulate every decision Catherine makes - from the clothes she wears, to the birthing plan she chooses. The BabyCentre community is already abuzz with the news."

This anticipated "Royal baby effect" will also likely to have an impact on baby name trends, with William and Catherine's chosen name for their little one expected to soar in popularity. Sasha Miller adds:

"We expect 'Elizabeth' to feature as a middle name following in both Windsor and Middleton tradition; both Catherine and her mum Carole share Elizabeth as a middle name, as do the Queen's granddaughters, Zara, Beatrice and Louise.

"For the baby's first name, royal traditions and the likelihood that this child will succeed to the throne means that we can expect a traditional first name. Victoria meaning 'victory' has strong royal heritage and is still a popular choice in royal circles so it wouldn't be a surprise if this is the name that William and Catherine choose."

Those with royal connections have already been making their impact felt in the UK's baby name chart; this year, the names Catherine and Kate both increased in popularity by 188 per cent and 260 per cent respectively. And with 2012 being the year of the Queen's jubilee, the name Elizabeth is being favoured by patriotic parents and is on track for a 264 per cent increase.

If Kate is presently 2 months pregnant, the future heir to the throne will currently measure just 1.6cm, the size of a kidney bean – in royal terms – a pair of Jubilee earrings, but she is predicted to be tall as an adult. Jill Irving, a BabyCentre expert and health visitor comments: "Based on the combined heights of William and Catherine, I would expect their daughter to reach around 5ft 10 inches as an adult."

About BabyCentre UK

BabyCentre is the UK's number one pregnancy and parenting website. Every month, over two million parents and parents-to-be visit BabyCentre.co.uk for helpful information, expert advice, and friendly support.

About BabyCenter®

BabyCenter® is the web's #1 global interactive parenting brand, reaching 78 percent of new and expecting moms online in the United States and 30 million parents monthly across 22 markets worldwide. BabyCenter, LLC, operates www.babycenter.com, the largest online resource for expectant and new parents around the world, and has nurtured more than 240 million parents since its launch in 1997. BabyCenter® is available on the Internet in eight languages and has mobile applications available in English and Spanish. BabyCenter, LLC, is based in San Francisco, California, and is a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies.

[ii] Statistics taken from: Norberg K. 2004. Partnership status and the human sex ratio at birth. Proc Biol Sci 271(1555):2403-10

[i] Statistics taken from: Magnuson A, Bodin L, Montgomery SM. 2007. Father's occupation and sex ratio of offspring. Scand J Public Health 35(5):454-9

[ii] The average calories intake for women who had girls was 2,283 while the average calorie intake for those who gave birth to boys was 2,413. Study results obtained from: Mathews F, Johnson PJ, Neil A. 2008. You are what your mother eats: evidence for maternal preconception diet influencing foetal sex in humans. Proc Biol Soc 275(1643):1661-8

SOURCE BabyCentre