Is a Kate pregnancy announcement imminent? The Duchess of Cambridge's apparent friend Jessica Hay has allegedly told an Australian magazine that she had heard news from "several different friend of theirs" that there would be an official announcement "in weeks." Kensington Palace has already played down the Duchess's relationship with Hay, but it hasn't stopped the bookmakers taking precautions.

Kate MiddletonKate Middleton with baby George [Getty/Mark Nolan]

One firm, Coral, has stopped taking bets on Kate announcing a pregnancy by the end of July following a flurry of bets. "When bets come in at once late in the evening, it sets alarm bells off," a Coral representative told People. "It's been quiet and then all of a sudden, a week before Prince George's birthday, this happened. The bets sealed our opinion that someone knows something we don't." The odds had been 10-1, though it's been cut to even money with the bookmakers still willing to offer odds.

Elsewhere, Ladbrokes, a separate betting firm, had also put a stop to betting on any announcement. The company said it received a considerable amount of bets and was subsequently forced to drop odds from 4-1 to 8-11. Ladbrokes are also offering odds on the first name of a second child, with Victoria and James leading the field at 6-1.

In Vanity Fair's cover story, Katie Nicholl reports that "there are rumors among the couple's friends that they plan to try [for a second child] this summer."