Duchess puts her foot in it: Kate Middleton tells soldier she wants a boy

Kate Middleton told soldiers she wants a boy (Rex Features)

Most mothers-to-be avoid revealing which gender they would prefer their baby to be; if they are wrong, there is always the suspicion of disappointment.

But after getting the heel of her shoe stuck in a drain at a St Patrick's Day army parade, the Duchess of Cambridge, who is five months pregnant, put her foot in it again by telling a soldier that she would prefer a son as her first child, while husband William, Duke of Cambridge, is hoping for a girl. Either way, the child will be heir to the throne with the proposed change to the law of succession.

The couple watched a march past by 200 soldiers of 1st Battalion Irish Guards at their base in Aldershot. William has been colonel of the regiment since 2011.