Jessica Hay, a childhood acquaintance of Kate's, told Australian tabloid New Idea that the duchess is actually expecting this time and will announce it soon. (Most of the "Kate's preggo" rumors up till now have taken the form of quotes from sketchy unnamed "insiders.")

“They’re planning to make an announcement in December. William and Kate are focused on starting a family,” Hay spilled to the pub. The mag says that the news corroborates Kate's recent "weight gain" -- one a few people picked up on in these recent photos.

"It seems very traditional, but of course they’ll be happy with boys or two girls, they don’t want more," Hay also said. “They’ve discussed it endlessly and don’t want to be older parents.”

So, who is Jessica Hay? In 2010, she claimed Kate told her about her engagement via phone before she told anyone else, and predicted that the wedding would be "sometime [in the] next year."

In 2011, she reportedly left her job at a law firm to concentrate on selling stories about her time spent growing up with the future duchess -- whom she says was often bullied in school.

Kate and William, both 30, reportedly put baby plans on hold owing to their high-profile engagements throughout the year, including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics. Last month, friends of the royal couple told Vanity Fair that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge “hope to be blessed with a baby soon.”

(Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)