The Duchess of Cambridge has sparked speculation that she is expecting a baby girl after an apparent slip of the tongue during a trip to Grimsby.

One member of the 2,000-strong crowd has made headlines after saying Kate may have accidentally hinted that she and Prince William are having a daughter.

The exchange happened during Kate’s walk-about in the foggy fishing port, when she was handed a teddy bear by 41-year-old Diana Burton.

Sandra Cook, 67, who was standing next to Ms Burton, reportedly heard Kate say: “Thank you, I will take that for my d…” before cutting herself off.

Sandra told reporters: “I leant over and said to her: ‘You were going to say daughter weren’t you?’.

“She said, ‘No, we don’t know!’. I said, ‘Oh I think you do,’ to which she replied: ‘We’re not telling’.”

If correct, the exchange means Britain will have another Queen, as changes to the laws of succession mean even if William and Kate one day have a son, he would not be able to claim the throne ahead of his big sister.

Otherwise Kate was careful not to give any clues, referring to her unborn child as “it” in one exchange.

When asked by a woman: “Can you feel the baby kicking?”, the Duchess replied: “Yes. I can feel it kicking.”

The Duchess began her visit at the northeast Lincolnshire town’s National Fishing Heritage Centre before visting Grimsby’s Peaks Lane Fire Station, where she was greeted with more loud cheers from the estimated 200 people who were waiting for her.

One of the women who had been waiting up to three hours to meet her, Claire Moss-Smith, 86, said she had said to the Duchess: “I’m waiting for you to be Queen.”

She said Kate laughed and replied: “You might be waiting a long time.”

[adrotate banner=”54″]