Royal baby - you can bet on it
Royal baby fever is running higher than ever, and the Brits are getting pretty caught up in it all.
Prince William and Duchess Catherine have not confirmed an official due date of the wee one, but it is suspected to arrive mid-July.
That’s only two weeks away – but we all know that could be any day now. Especially seeing as Princess Diana fooled the media in 1982 with a fake due date, giving birth to baby William 10 days earlier than expected.
With all this speculation and anticipation, thousands of Brits are getting amongst the hype by betting.
Yes, gambling.
On a child.
And it’s not just what the baby’s gender will be – which seems to have caused most speculation – or what it’s going to be called.
According to today.com, everything surrounding the birth of newest heir has a statistic and a price tag (in the UK).
People have placed bets on the tot’s hair colour, whether or not Kate will have an elective C-section, and even which parent will be holding the baby when they all leave the hospital.
But this is nothing new, as gambling on the royal family has become somewhat ‘traditional’.
Before the baby came the wedding in 2011, which saw people making bets ranging from when and where it would be held, to what words would be spoken at the ceremony. Then came bets on when the couple would announce a pregnancy, and here we are.
Another betting option opened up when Kate was hospitalised with acute morning sickness and rumours emerged she was expecting twins.
This rumour, however, was not to be outdone by the Duchess’ infamous slip of the tongue, which came in March when she thanked a well-wisher for a teddy bear.
“I will take that for my d…” she reportedly said.
Whoops. Everyone obviously took that ‘d’ to mean Kate and Will were having a little girl, and the betting became so one-sided that one of UK’s largest bookmakers, William Hill, suspended all betting on gender.
After letting speculation go on for a considerable amount of time, it was officially announced last week that the royal couple had chosen not to find out the gender of their baby.
It was also stated that Kate was to have a “natural” birth as opposed to a C-section, which halted William Hill’s “too posh to push” market.
At the moment, names seem to be the hottest category to bet on, and Alexandra appears to be the 5 to 2 favourite.
But Charlotte has been chasing well and is now running alongside Elizabeth and Diana.
The trio is in second place by a fair distance though, sitting at 6 to 1.
George is leading the boys, but only as a 12 to 1 favourite. Louis and Philip are the very distant second and third choices.
When it comes to hair colour, most think the child will be brunette or blonde, but some daring gamblers think it could take after redheaded Uncle Harry.
Still want more?
Well, how about betting on the baby’s weight, or the time of day the baby will be born, down to the exact hour?
Combining all the odds, the royal tot is going to be a seven-pound brunette named Alexandra who will grace the world on July 17.
No pressure Kate.
