Kate Middleton’s baby will be born be the end of the week, says Camilla

The Duchess of Cornwall has revealed the royal family hopes Kate Middleton and Prince William’s baby will be born “by the end of the week”.

During a visit to a children’s hospice yesterday, Camilla remarked: “We don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re all waiting at the end of a telephone.

“I hope by the end of the week he or she will be there.”

Prince Charles and Camilla started their annual summer tour of Devon and Cornwall yesterday in the popular tourist town of Bude.

Many mothers brought their babies to meet them – giving them ample opportunity to greet newborns before Kate gives birth.

Trudi Lindsay, from Bude, said she was “delighted” her three-week-old daughter Ellie-Mae could see the royals.

“I said <<You have got one of these coming soon>> and Charles replied <<Hopefully>>, then he laughed.

“He was very good with Ellie-Mae, he touched her cheek. I still can’t believe Prince Charles touched my baby’s cheek.

“It is really exciting to have them here in Bude, especially as the weather is so nice.”

Jenny Dawe, 62, who works in a local shop, showed the royals her selection of cards.

“I said <<You will need a new baby card soon>> and they laughed,” Jenny Dawe said.

New parents Poppy and Paul Steen brought their five-day-old son Lowen to meet Prince Charles and Camilla.

Paul Steen, 33, said: “We’ve had quite a busy few days. Lowen wasn’t supposed to be born today but he came on Wednesday and I had to deliver him at home.

“The midwife did joke that he might arrive on the same day as Kate’s and we might get a commemorative coin but Lowen wasn’t waiting for that.”

Senior royals will be the first to know when Kate Middleton is admitted to the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington in the early stages of labor.