Royal baby 'by the end of the week'

The Duchess of Cornwall has revealed that the Royal Family are hoping for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's baby to be born "by the end of the week".

With William and Kate's first child expected in "mid-July", speculation about the baby's name and gender has given way to sheer excitement at the imminent arrival of the future monarch.

Visiting the Little Harbour Children's Hospital near St Austell, Cornwall, Camilla hinted that no-one is more caught up in the mood of expectation than the royals themselves.

In an exchange caught on camera by ITV, she said: "We don't know what's going to happen. We're all waiting at the end of a telephone.

"I hope by the end of the week he or she will be there."

Reporters, photographers and cameramen from across the globe, who have been camped outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London since the start of the month, are on tenterhooks to break good news to the world.