Prince William and Princess Kate Could Decide Not to Have a Fourth Child Over Environmental Concerns, Royal Expert Says

Many royal commentators are convinced Prince William and Princess Kate will have a fourth child eventually, but ITV News royal editor Chris Ship isn't so sure.

Ship sounds amused by the speculation, but also argues that the Prince and Princess of Wales could decide against having a fourth child not so much for personal reasons as for environmental ones—and he definitely has a point.

"I was at a maternity unit with Kate recently, at a hospital, and I could even before I turned up at the hospital, I thought, how long before I start seeing stories about, 'Oh, Kate sees a baby, Kate's therefore broody, Kate's gonna have a fourth,'" Ship said on Sky News Australia (via Express).

To be fair, the princess herself has used the word "broody" more than once during official engagements, as well as joking that her husband gets worried she wants another one, so it's not like the speculation is completely baseless.

"You know, it's entirely possible, course she might have a fourth, although let's remember William and Kate are in their forties now," Ship continued. "I think they're done with three, that's my personal prediction, although it's entirely up to them, it's a private matter. If they want to have a fourth, I'm sure they will."

As a reminder, the Waleses are parents to George, 9, Charlotte, 7, and Louis, 4.

Ship went on to explain that having four children can be harmful environmentally (because of CO2 emissions), which is a very relevant concern for Prince William, who has made reversing the climate crisis a personal mission of his in recent years.

"There's a slight serious point to this, and Harry's mentioned it before, and now William's campaigning more and more on environmental matters," Ship said.

"A lot of people say that actually in the interest of the planet, you shouldn't be having four children. I'm sure William might open himself up to some criticism from that sort of green lobby if he were to have a fourth.

"But you know, that's their choice. They're a couple, and they can choose when and if to have child number four."

William notably founded the Earthshot Prize, which bolsters projects designed to help heal the planet. The Prize's second annual awards ceremony will be held this December in Boston.