Kate Middleton: An early royal birth?

Dozens of television camera operators and photographers marked out their positions on the pavement opposite the entrance of the Lindo wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, ready for the arrival of the royal mum-to-be.

Buckingham Palace has said Catherine is not due until mid-July but rumours abound that she could give birth earlier, fuelled by Princess Diana's decision to announce a false due date when she was pregnant with William in 1981.

The press pack gathered outside St Mary's on Monday admitted they had little new information about the birth, but after one camera crew arrived early that morning, many felt they had little choice but to go down and secure their own spot.

Catherine has not been seen in public since June 15 when she joined the royal family at the Trooping of the Colour, the military parade marking Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday.

Last month, it was reported that Catherine was planning to try hypnobirthing for her first child, a technique which focuses meditation and visualization techiques to reduce not only the length of labor but the pain levels as well.

The news of the royal baby went abuzz when St James palace announced on December 3 that the Duchess of Cambridges is pregnant with the couple’s first child. On the very same day, the ‘RoyalBaby’ hashtag went viral on Twitter.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Malaysia in September 2012. Kate, who is also the patron to the East Anglica Children’s Hospices, made her frst public speech outside of the United Kingdom at Hospis Malaysia on September 13.

Prince William and the former Catherine “Kate” Middleton” married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London after being engaged on October 2011 and followed by an official announcement a month later.