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Kate Middleton, Prince William Will Beef Up Security for Royal Baby No. 2

Kate Middleton, Prince George and Prince William
Kate Middleton and Prince William will likely increase their protection detail after the Duchess gives birth to royal baby No. 2

Safety first! Four days past the official due date, Kate Middleton and Prince William are still awaiting the birth of their second child, but they — and their security team — will be ready whenever he or she arrives. Ken Wharfe, former head of security for Kensington Palace, tells Us Weekly that the Duke and Duchess' security detail will likely increase immediately after royal baby No. 2 is born, which should be any day now. 

Related: PHOTOS: Kate's chic second pregnancy

"Currently, William and Kate have a protection team, I would imagine, of somewhere in the region of about six and eight between them, with the resources calling upon additional security should they need it," Wharfe tells Us. "In amongst that team, you have an additional two people that will be solely responsible for the protection of George. [When the new baby arrives,] that security will be increased again by probably another one." 

Wharfe, a close friend of William's mother, the late Princess Diana, says this is standard protocol for the royal family. "Not that George, just over a year old, goes out on public duties, but there has to be extra security for obvious reasons," he explains. "Because they will go out with nannies. That is what the royal family wants. They don't want [the kids] to be completely nursery-bound up until adulthood."

Related: PHOTOS: Prince George's baby album

Wharfe himself was on William and Harry's security detail back in 1987 when they were 5 and 3, respectively, so he knows the job well. (He joined the royal family in 1986 and worked for them until 1996.) He says the risk increases as the kids get older, because they "become much more mobile." And while most people would never dream of hurting the children, you can never be too cautious.

In fact, Wharfe says even kidnapping is a risk, "because not everybody is nice and respectful of the royal family, and we live in a very uncertain climate here in the 21st century. And given the day-to-day local publicity of the royal family, and not necessarily all with good comment," he adds, "it does bring about interest for some factions of society that could and would wish to bring harm to them."

Related: PHOTOS: Royal family baby photos

In part because of that, security is also being beefed up at the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital, where the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge is expected to give birth to her second child. Wharfe tells Us there are "exhaustive" security checks anytime members of the royal family gather in a publicly known location. 

"It's like a fortress there when a royal is inside," he says of the hospital, which is also where Prince George, Prince William, and Prince Harry were born.

Related: PHOTOS: Princes William and Harry through the years

Adds Georgie McGrath, who's given birth twice at the Lindo Wing: "Even if you got into the ground floor, you couldn't effectively get upstairs unless you were passed in and signed in. It's very safe, very safe indeed.”

Stay with Us Weekly for all the latest updates on Royal Baby No. 2, including an exclusive livestream of the scene outside St. Mary's Hospital once the Duchess goes into labor, frequent updates from royal experts and Us staffers in London, the big baby reveal, and much more!

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