Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, carries her son Prince George as he examines a butterfly on the hand of his father Prince William during a visit to the Sensational Butterflies exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London
Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, carries her son Prince George as he examines a butterfly on the hand of his father Prince William during a visit to the Sensational Butterflies exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London July 2, 2014. Prince George turns one on July 22, 2014. REUTERS/John Stillwell/Pool

Prince George is going to be a big brother. Prince William and Kate Middleton are expecting their second child, Kensington Palace has officially announced on Monday.

After months of pregnancy speculations, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have finally confirmed the good news.

“Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting their second child,” the statement reads. “The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news.”

The statement added that as with her first pregnancy with Prince George, Kate, 32, is also suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, or more commonly known as severe morning sickness. She is being treated by doctors at their residence, Kensington Palace.

She was supposed to accompany Prince William in Oxford on Monday, but has now stayed at home instead. It’s still unknown if she would also cancel her first solo foreign trip to Malta later in September.

The statement did not mention how far along she is in her pregnancy. However, a senior royal source told the Daily Mail that she hasn’t reached the crucial 12-week stage yet. The palace was only forced to announce the news because of her condition.

“But when it became apparent that she was not well enough to join the Duke on a joint engagement in Oxford today and that the number of forthcoming engagements could be affected, the Duke and Duchess have taken the difficult decision to be fully open about the pregnancy,” the insider said.

It was the same with her first pregnancy. The Palace announced that the royal couple were expecting their first child earlier than is traditional after she had been admitted to a hospital suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum.

William and Kate’s second child will be the fourth in line to the throne, next to big brother Prince George, father Prince William and grandfather Prince Charles. Once the baby arrives, Prince Harry will be bumped down to fifth in the line of succession.

Kate gave birth to George Alexander Louis on July 22, 2013.