World waits for Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s royal baby

Ok, it’s the middle of July and people in Britain are starting to get a little edgy, waiting for the any-day-now birth of the next potential heir to the throne.

Although the royal family hasn’t disclosed the baby’s precise due date -- if, by the way, there is such a thing as a precise due date -- it was widely believed the first child of Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, would arrive over this past weekend.

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Reporters camped out at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. Merchants prepared to sell souvenir mugs and plates. Promotions manager Daniel Obando, shown here, wrapped himself in Union Jack decorations and strapped a baby doll to his chest to draw attention in Piccadilly.

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A pair of William and Kate lookalikes were spotted strolling with a pram through Kensington Gardens on Sunday afternoon, creating a stir, the Telegraph reported.

But meanwhile, word came that the Duchess, the former Kate Middleton, had departed steamy London for her parents’ home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, which boasts a cool pool, according to Us Weekly.

And Prince William spent Sunday playing in a charity polo match in Gloucestershire.

With the weekend past, step-grandmother-to-be Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, said Monday the extended family is “just waiting by the telephone. We are hopeful that by the end of the week, he or she will be here.”

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