As you may have heard, Prince William and Kate Middleton are having a baby. And now we have a due date! The world-historical birth of the Duke and Duchess's royal baby is scheduled for July, the couple said on their official, royal website. Middleton was admitted (for four days) to a London hospital in December for hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness, prompting her and Prince William to announce their new baby. Anglophiles will likely appreciate the transparency — it's enough, for now, to rid their minds of Kate Middleton's official portrait — but one crucial, unanswered question remains: the baby's sex. Not because we have a weird, overbearing predilection with gender norms, but because of British law. Reuters UK:
Press and public interest in their first baby will be huge, with particular focus on gender now that the government is passing legislation changing historic rules of succession to ensure the baby will become third in line to the British throne behind William no matter whether it is a girl or boy.
(The pertinent legislation hasn't passed yet because it depends on the assent of the British Commonwealth realm, whose members include Canada, Australia and New Zealand.)