(CNN)–The Duchess of Cambridge, wife of Britain’s Prince William, has been admitted to hospital in the early stages of labor, the royal family announced.
The duchess, the former Kate Middleton, was driven by car from her official residence at Kensington Palace to the private wing of a central London hospital early Monday.
"Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London earlier this morning in the early stages of labor," Kensington Palace said.
"The Duchess traveled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital with The Duke of Cambridge."
The duchess is pregnant with her third child. The baby will be fifth in line to the British throne, after grandfather Prince Charles, father Prince William and two siblings.
The newest addition to the royal family will be a younger brother or sister to Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 2, and will be Queen Elizabeth II’s sixth great-grandchild.
Among bookmakers’ favored names for the couple’s third child are Arthur, Albert and Frederick for a boy, and Mary, Alice and Alexandra for a girl.
