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Kate Middleton, whose pregnancy was announced almost every other week by gossip tabloids during her 18 month marriage to Prince William, really is pregnant this time, the Royal Palace has announced.

The Palace was forced to make the announcement a little sooner than expected because the Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to the hospital earlier in the week because of severe morning sickness. She is in the “early stages of her pregnancy,” the palace said.

She is staying at the King Edward VII Hospital in Central London and will remain in the hospital under watch for at least the next several days, according to Buckingham Palace. Kate and William were married in April 2011. This is their first child together and comes about eight months later than Prince Diana’s pregnancy with Prince William.

The child, even if it is a girl, will automatically become third in line for the throne behind William and his father Prince Charles, assuming Elizabeth II still reigns as Queen. Prince Harry will become fourth in line.

The couple said they are “delighted with the news,” according to a statement on their website. “Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby,” the statement said.

Middleton’s condition has a formal name; it’s known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum, or acute morning sicknss. It can be dangerous because it causes pregnant women to lose weight, and Kate is notoriously thin.

Only last Friday, Middleton participated in field hockey game at her former school, St. Andrew’s in Pangbourne, according to London’s Daily Mail.