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Prince William, Kate to name baby after Diana?

Termed as the most anticipated pregnancy since the Princess Diana's, British Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are expecting their first child after 19 months of marriage.

After months of speculation, St James's Palace announced on Monday, the Royal couple is expecting their first child.A spokesman said the Duchess has been admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in central London with acute morning sickness. She is expected to stay in hospital for several days. 

The daddy-to-be prince could name his little princess Diana, in loving memory of his mother, according to one expert. 

Royal Author Phil Dampier said that he would be "astonished" if Kate and William did not use Princess Diana's name for their first-born, if they were to have a royal baby girl, the Mirror reported.

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Prince William, Kate to name baby after Diana?

No sooner had the couple announced their exciting news, eager bookies offered odds on what the new offspring might be called.

Not surprisingly, topping the list of girls' titles was Her Majesty's namesake Elizabeth.Bookies Ladbrokes had Liz chalked up as 8/1 favourite if the couple have a girl.

They also had William's dad Charles down as a joint favourite if Kate has a royal baby boy. Charles was 10/1, along with John.

Prince William, Kate to name baby after Diana?

Diana was the next most popular choice and Dampier believes the couple will no doubt be thinking about some sort of tribute to Princes William and Harry's late mother, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

"I think Diana's influence will be very strong. Kate will surely have asked William about his upbringing and on their engagement Kate spoke about her regret at not meeting Diana and how she found her an inspiration," Dampier said.

"I'm sure she will be looking at what Diana did as a mother and learning from her. I would be utterly astonished if Diana didn't make up some part of the name should the baby be a girl."

William missed her at the abbey when he wed Kate – she is always in his mind," he added.Other popular names that might be chosen for the baby include Anne (12/1), James (12/1), Mary (14/1) and Richard (16/1).

Prince William, Kate to name baby after Diana?

The new arrival will be third in line to the throne and great grandchild to Queen Elizabeth II.

A statement on the couple's website read, "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby. The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news."

"The Duchess was admitted Monday afternoon to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with hyperemesis gravidarum. As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter."

The happy news comes after months of speculation that the Duke and Duchess would soon be starting a family.

Prince William, Kate to name baby after Diana?

Most recently, Prince William accepted a gift of a personalised baby grow from a member of the public, telling her, "I'll keep that!"

Following the announcement that the Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant, Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, said, "I am delighted at the announcement that the Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby. It has been over a year since the Commonwealth heads of government agreed to change the laws of succession."

"The government must legislate immediately to reform the outdated laws that would see Catherine's baby, if it is a girl, unfairly discriminated against."

"In September the New Zealand Prime Minister (John Key), who is leading the group to reform the succession laws across the Commonwealth, wrote to me and outlined the timetable for change. But it is important that Britain leads this change."

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