Why We Should Have Seen Kate's Pregnancy Announcement Coming

There are almost always pregnancy rumors surrounding Kate, but starting in July, those rumors started to get more and more intense. During Prince George's first birthday, there were reports that Will and Kate were trying for another baby. At first, a former friend of Kate's, Jessica Hay, said that she had heard Kate was expecting, but Kensington Palace responded by saying that Jessica and Kate hadn't spoken in years. (However, it stopped short of denying any pregnancy news.) Then, two betting firms put a hold on taking bets for Kate pregnancy announcements, as they had suddenly been flooded with new bets. A spokesperson for one firm, Coral, said, "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."

While Will and Kate aren't exactly known for packing on the PDA, royal fans couldn't help but notice that the pair had been showing a lot of affection toward one another when they attended various sports events in July. At the Commonwealth Games in July, William and Kate were seen touching each other's legs, and William even got playful with Kate's badge while trying to cool down in the sweltering heat. There were also sightings of Will and Kate showing affection when they visited a pub. Paired with the reports that the two had been trying for a baby, the increase in PDA could have been a sign that Kate and Will were feeling closer than ever to each other.

While the royals tend to take a break from royal duties during the month of August, Kate's schedule was noticeably left bare — save for a few major events — over the course of the Summer and September. In early August, Kate joined Will and Harry in Belgium to commemorate the start of World War I and attend a special event in London shortly afterward. Aside from those events, Kate has had a pretty easy season, although she and Will did make time for some unofficial visits to the Commonwealth Games in Glasglow and Wimbledon. It's possible that the palace cut back on her engagements in anticipation of the baby news and wanted to leave room for the possibility of her acute morning sickness returning.

One month before the pregnancy news, William announced that he would be taking on a new job as an air-ambulance pilot in Norwich, England. While a somewhat dangerous new job doesn't exactly sound like a sign of family expansion, Will's new position takes him and Kate out of London and makes their country estate, Anmer Hall, their new home base. The prince is a big fan of country living, as he and Prince Harry grew up in Prince Charles's country home, Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, England. While Charles still maintained an official London base at Clarence House, William was likely affected by the privacy and comfort of Highgrove. Centering their lives around Anmer Hall could be a sign that Will and Kate were getting serious about their family life.

When Will, Kate, and Prince Harry visited Belgium on Aug. 4, Kate noticeably kept her hands firmly placed in front of her belly. Then, during a visit to the Tower of London on Aug. 5, the duchess raised eyebrows again when she kept a black clutch over her stomach for almost the entirety of her visit. While Kate probably wasn't looking to hide the signs of a baby bump (she's still in the early stages), her motions could have been an instinctive move.

During her last public appearance on Aug. 5, we couldn't help but notice that Kate had let a bit of her roots come through. Many women cut back on dying their hair when they are pregnant because of concerns that the hair-dye chemicals may negatively affect the fetus. The appearance of the duchess's roots could have been a sign that she was playing it safe when it came to her unborn baby.

Kate wiped away tears when she visited the Tower of London's WWI installation on August 5. At the time, people thought she was just overcome with emotion about the beautiful installation, but her surprising show of emotion could have also been caused by pregnancy hormones.