Everybody loves a bargain - including the Duchess of Cambridge, who will cash in on a special loyalty discount for having her second child at a prestigious London hospital.
Kate Middleton is due to give birth within the next fortnight at the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, where the going rate for a two-room suite is a cool £6570 ($12,600) a night. The Duchess' discount will see that slashed to an affordable £5913 ($11,344) assuming the birth follows a "normal delivery". There is an additional £6000 ($11,510) consultant's fee.
On its website, the Lindo Wing boasts deluxe rooms and suites, "world-class maternity care" and personalised, discrete service from a "dedicated hotel services team".
Prince George, Kate and Prince William's first child, was delivered at the Lindo Wing in June 2013. A journalist with Britain's Telegraph who gave birth to her children at the wing described it as "shabby chic" and "basic", but offering "exquisite care" and "unparalleled medical expertise".
Dedicated fans and well-wishers have already started gathering outside the wing, despite the rumoured due date not being until April 25. Parking restrictions are in place 24 hours a day from April 15 to 30, for what the signs declare as a "special event".
Royal enthusiast Margaret Tyler, 71, is part of the group camped out near the Lindo Wing, according to Britain's Daily Mail. She spent six days waiting outside the hospital when Prince George was born.
"I just wanted to feel close to them [William and Kate], I suppose," she told the BBC. "I spent the time meeting people, and chatting.I was convinced it was going to be a girl, but it wasn't."
Ms Tyler may be in luck this time though, with punters overwhelmingly favouring a girl and the bookies offering odds of $2.50 on the baby being named "Alice".
