Is Royal baby actually due ten days earlier than announced?

Duchess of Cambridge could have followed Princess Diana's lead by keeping true date secret.

The royal baby isn't expected to arrive for another three weeks according to the officially announced due date.

But sources have suggested there could be a little boy or girl in the royal nursery much earlier than anticipated.

The Daily Telegraph reported today that 'the Duchess may be due earlier than the July 13 date announced by Buckingham Palace but have kept the true date a secret, much like Princess Diana.'

Back in 1982, Princess Diana fooled the press by announcing the heir to the throne was due on July 1. But Prince William was actually born ten days earlier on June 21.

If Kate and William have decided to follow his mother's lead, the true expected due date of their first child will be July 3.

With the intense press speculation and public interest surrounding the birth, the couple couldn't be blamed for maintaining a shred of privacy by misleading the nation on the official due date. Especially after they lost the opportunity to keep Kate's pregnancy under wraps until she reached the three month mark after she was admitted to hospital last November with severe morning sickness.

Of course, the due date is only ever an estimation of when a baby will arrive and as palace sources have confirmed the Duchess will not be having an caesarian, nobody will be able to predict when her labour will begin naturally.

Kate's last official public engagement was the Trooping of the Colour on 15 June.