Duchess of Cambridge opts for natural birth

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, is opting for a natural birth. Picture: Getty

With many women choosing to have a Caesarean section to avoid a strenuous labour, there was some speculation that Kate might have opted for surgery.

But the sources confirmed the duchess will have a natural delivery at the private Lindo wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington and will not join those dubbed “too posh to push”.

It had been thought that William and Kate were having a girl after the duchess appeared to stop herself saying the word daughter during an official engagement in March.

But the couple do not know their baby’s gender and want it to be a surprise when he or she is born sometime in mid-July.

A source said: “The duke and duchess do not know the sex of their baby and they’ve decided not to find out beforehand.”

In choosing St Mary’s, the couple have picked the London hospital where William and his brother Prince Harry were born.

The Duchess will be tended by a top medical team led by the Queen’s former gynaecologist, Marcus Setchell, who delivered the Countess of Wessex’s two children. He will be assisted by Alan Farthing, the former fiance of murdered TV presenter Jill Dando and the Queen’s current gynaecologist. William is expected to be at his wife’s bedside.

The birth will be accompanied by an element of theatre, with a notice informing the nation that a new heir to the throne has been born placed on an easel in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.

It will be taken from the hospital and given a police escort to speed it through London to the Queen’s official residence.

The ornate easel was used to announce the duke’s birth on 21 June 1982, but the notice will not be put in place until the Queen and senior members of the Royal Family have been told of the new addition to their family.

William will take paternity leave from his job as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot, thought to be two weeks.

But it is not known how long the duchess will take off from her royal duties to care for her first child. She could take a number of months off and may not return to her public engagements until the new year.

The couple could spend the weeks following the birth at Amner Hall, a large property on the Queen’s Sandringham estate.

A St James’s Palace spokesman appealed for sensitive reporting in light of the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who worked at the King Edward VII’s hospital where Kate was treated for severe pregnancy sickness.

Ms Saldanha was found dead in December, three days after she was duped by two Australian DJs into releasing information about Kate’s condition.

Dando’s ex-fiance oversees pregnancy

The Duchess of Cambridge’s pregnancy has been overseen by the Queen’s gynaecologist Alan Farthing, the former fiance of murdered TV presenter Jill Dando.

Mr Farthing, who has been a doctor for 26 years, works at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in Hammersmith, west London, and St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, west London.

He became the Queen’s gynaecologist, taking over care of royal mothers, in September 2008 and Kate’s baby is his first high-profile royal birth. The consultant gynaecologist, who qualified at St George’s Hospital Medical School in Tooting, south London, also works privately at King Edward VII’s Hospital, the Wellington Hospital in north London, St Mary’s Lindo Wing and Harley Street.

Exclusive setting where William made his debut

The duchess has chosen to follow recent royal tradition and have her baby at the exclusive Lindo wing at St Mary’s Hospital, opting for a range of “bespoke care packages”.

Her husband and his brother Prince Harry were both born in the private wing in Paddington, west London, and Alan Farthing, the Queen’s gynaecologist, who is helping to care for Kate, works at St Mary’s.

William made his public debut at one day old with his parents outside the hospital, wrapped in a white blanket carried in the arms of his father the Prince of Wales with Diana at his side. The Lindo has been a popular birthplace for royal children over the years. Peter and Zara Phillips were both born in the wing.

Fully refurbished last year, the wing is described as providing “leading private obstetric and neonatal care for 60 years”.

It has private en suite rooms designed to provide “comfort and privacy”. deluxe rooms and suites are also available.

A normal delivery package including a one-night stay costs £4,965, with an extra night in a deluxe room costing £1,050, plus consultants’ fees which can come to £6,000, depending on the care required, meaning a two-night stay can cost more than £12,000.