Duchess Kate baby-mad media mob gathers at hospital

Are we excited yet? Yes, the media mob frantic for royal baby news is camped outside Duchess Kate's London hospital today as attentive husband Will visits again and a few wacky looky-lous crane their necks nearby.

The finally pregnant Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, 30, spent her first night last night in the private King Edward VII Hospital in central London where she is being treated for a relatively rare case of acute morning sickness. She is expected to remain there for at least a few days.

No royal detachment for Prince William, 30, who arrived today to spend more time with her as she struggles through the early stages of her pregnancy with their first child, a future king or queen. Will was dressed casually, having secured leave from his job as an RAF helicopter pilot in Wales.

Her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, also are expected to visit today, as will sister Pippa Middleton, who lives near the hospital.

At one point, a man dressed in a puffy winter coat and a Prince William mask had to be escorted away from the entrance to the hospital by London police.

Meanwhile the world celebrity media, especially the London-based paparazzi, are gathered outside the hospital, known as a discrete favorite of the royal family, waiting for ... well, what exactly? News. Any news.

So far, there's not much to report after Monday's reluctant palace announcement that the duchess is pregnant, compelled by the certain-to-leak fact that she had been hospitalized.

So now it's waiting time for everybody. Meanwhile, the British media, not to mention the rest of the world, is busy reporting all sorts of related matters, such as the details of severe morning sickness (hyperemesis gravidarum), what the bookies are saying about the odds on baby names and what happens if she gives birth to twins.

The usually serious Telegraph reported that a "cold statistical analysis" suggests the duchess will bring forth a girl who will grow to be 5 feet 10 inches. The usually less serious Daily Mail reported that twins, unprecedented in the English royal succession, could be a "problem" if they're born just seconds apart.

But what's the problem? Last year the Danish crown princess gave birth to twins, but the boy was born 25 minutes before the girl and so took precedence in the Danish succession.

Only seven or eight more months of this to go.

USA Today