t is possibly the most well-known colour code of them all – pink for a girl, blue for a boy.
So when the Duchess of Cambridge revealed she had bought a pram in light blue, Royal watchers wondered excitedly if she had dropped the biggest clue yet to the sex of her unborn child.
Kate – who is six months pregnant – told guests at a recent reception that she had chosen a buggy by designer label Bugaboo, which has celebrity fans including actress Sienna Miller and television presenter Peaches Geldof.
The buggies, which cost from £500 to £1,000 and can operate as either a pushchair or pram, come in a variety of colours and parents who do not know the sex of their baby usually prefer neutral hues such as beige, off-white or black.
The Duke and Duchess have insisted that they do not know if they are having a boy or a girl.
But although it is possible to swap some of the buggy’s accessories for those in different colours, including pink, Kate’s choice of blue will be seen as a clear hint as to her feelings about the gender.
She has said she would prefer a son while William wants a daughter.
Yesterday, Bugaboo said it had not presented the buggy to the Royal couple after being advised by officials not to send gifts.
So it appears that Kate, who was seen shopping for a Moses basket in South Kensington last week with her mother, bought the pram herself.
The Duchess, 31, revealed the Bugaboo colour when she chatted to a group of Army wives at a drinks reception in Aldershot on St Patrick’s Day.
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According to one source: ‘She and some of the other girls were talking about prams and one of the girls had her baby in a Bugaboo.
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POLKA-DOTTY FOR HER DRESS
Her choices of dress have long spawned a rush to the shops – and this pretty polka dot outfit proved pregnancy has done nothing to dent the ‘Kate-effect’.
Just an hour after the Duchess of Cambridge arrived at the Warner Brothers film studios in Hertfordshire on Friday, the Topshop dress, which costs just £20 in the sale, had sold out online.
Now it has emerged the skater dress was bought personally by the Duchess from Topshop in Oxford Circus last month.
It is understood she arrived unannounced and spent nearly an hour browsing with her security staff, looking at the main range rather than maternity clothes.
'Kate said she has bought one in light blue. It was a bit of a hint.’
Guardsman Lee Wheeler, 29, who met Kate at the ceremony, said the Duchess was happily discussing the Royal bump.
He said: ‘I asked her, “Do you know if it’s a girl or a boy?” and she said, “Not yet”.
She said, “I’d like to have a boy and William would like a girl.” I asked her if she had any names and she said no.’
Since then, however, the Royal couple have revealed they have a shortlist of boys’ and girls’ names.
Alexandra and Elizabeth are said to be favourites for a girl, with George in the running for a boy.
Last night a spokesman for the Duchess declined to comment.