London - When royal officials announced that Kate, duchess of Cambridge, was expecting her first child in December 2012, it sparked a media frenzy around the world. The birth of a baby brother or sister promises to be no different.
Hours after the announcement that Kate, duchess of Cambridge, was expecting her second child, bookmakers were already raking in money from punters wanting to make a bet on Britain's next royal baby.
“If there's one thing that baby George taught us it's that the British public love a punt on a royal offspring and we're bracing ourselves for another baby betting bonanza,” said a spokesman for Paddy Power.
“Money is already pouring in by the pram-load and we expect this to be the biggest novelty betting market of the year.”
Mary, Victoria, Elizabeth and Philip were favourite baby names at 10/1 on Paddy Power, while William Hill was offering odds of 20/1 that Kate would give birth to twins.
There was a similar reaction when the upcoming birth of Prince George was announced, in December 2012, when Kate was taken to hospital for severe morning sickness.
The usual spotlight placed on the royal family increased ten-fold, with every new photo of the duchess examined for signs of a baby bump, and endless speculation in the media on just about everything - from the baby's sex to its hair colour and weight.
And weeks before the rumoured due date arrived, hordes of photographers and cameramen were camped outside the central London hospital where she eventually gave birth, on July 22 of last year.
As then, palace officials are unlikely to confirm when Kate's official due date is, though punters are already placing bets on it falling on April 21, Queen Elizabeth II's birthday.
Despite the excitement, the arrival of the second baby is not as constitutionally significant as that of George, notes Clarissa Campbell Orr, a monarchy expert at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.
“The couple already have an heir,” she says. “Therefore, whether it's a boy or a girl, they will be next in line to the throne after Prince George, until Prince George has children of his own.”
George's arrival was particularly significant as it prompted the government to change the law of male primogeniture, so that, had he been a girl, he would still have taken his place as third-in-line, after grandfather Prince Charles and father William.
The new baby will push Prince William's brother Harry to fifth place in the line of succession.
There had always been an assumption that Kate and William would have at least two children - “an heir and a spare,” as the first two royal children are frequently dubbed - so the question was rather one of when.
Rumours that a second was on the way were fuelled in April, when William told a New Zealand woman who gave him a lace shawl, “You might have to make another one soon.”
In July, bookmakers suspended bets after a flurry of wagers on a second royal pregnancy were placed.
They appeared to have been based on comments by Jessica Hay, who went to school with Kate and correctly predicted her first pregnancy. She told an Australian magazine that Kate's inner circle were “buzzing with the news that she is pregnant.”
It is unlikely that she could have known, however, given that she made the comments in early July.
Monday's pregnancy news also coincided with another big topic in British current affairs - next week's referendum on Scottish independence.
As polls showed for the first time that the a majority of Scots may favour an exit, there was speculation about whether the royal news could generate enough good will to save the United Kingdom.
“Kate got pregnant, what are you doing to keep the union prime minister?” commented a Guardian journalist, in a dig at British premier David Cameron. - Sapa-dpa