Oh, happy day! Hours after Kensington Palace announced on Monday, Sept. 8, that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their second child together, Prince William attended a royal engagement at St. Hugh’s College in Oxford, England, where he was greeted with cheers and congratulations from a waiting crowd of students.
Grinning as he emerged from his car, the 32-year-old Duke graciously thanked well-wishers for their warm welcome and acknowledgment of wife Kate Middleton‘s second pregnancy. (Duchess Catherine was originally scheduled to attend the event with her husband but had to cancel because of her hyperemesis gravidarum, a type of severe morning sickness she also suffered during her first pregnancy with Prince George.)
“She’s feeling okay, thanks,” the Duke told reporters after opening the Dickson Poon University of Oxford China Centre Building on Monday. “It’s been a tricky few days. But we’re immensely thrilled. It’s great news, and early days. We’re hoping things just settle down and she feels a bit better. I’m going to look after her now.”
At one point during his walk through the school grounds, Prince William stopped to chat with 27-year-old Erica Payne, who was accompanied by her 12-week-old daughter, Isabel. “They’re good when they stay like that — quiet,” the second-time father-to-be quipped to Payne.
A little further down the path, he encountered young Isabella Rawlings, 2, who handed him a bunch of pink roses. “William said, ‘Thanks,’ and ‘Are they for Kate?'” Isabella’s dad, Tom Rawlings, recounted afterward. “He asked if we bought them this morning.”
As previously reported, the pregnant-again Duchess, 32, is currently being treated by doctors at Kensington Palace for acute morning sickness. Because of that, and the fact that she had to cancel her scheduled appearance in Oxford, she and the Duke made the “very difficult” decision to announce their baby news early, a source tells Us Weekly.
Another insider says the parents-to-be are “very happy.” And they’re not the only ones. “The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news,” Kensington Palace said in a statement on Monday morning.
