Theory suggests that Kate reveals she is pregnant before the official announcement by cutting her HAIR

This week the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge revealed that they are expecting their third child together.

While the sudden announcement from Kensington Palace due to Kate's m=severe morning sickness came as a surprise to many, there are some that claim to have seen the news coming.

According to one reporter from the London Evening Standard, there have been secret signs each time the Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant that she may be expecting – weeks before the couple announce the happy news to the world.

So, the secret sign that so many of us seem to have missed? Apparently the clue lies in Kate's hair!

Journalist Kate Proctor explained the theory held by many of her friends is that each time the Duchess of Cambridge discovers she is pregnant, she changes her hairstyle so that the world's attention will move to her head and away from what might be giveaway signs of a baby bump.

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[/twitter]Distracting royal watchers and photographers by debuting a new 'do allows Kate and Prince William to delay the world discovering their news before the official announcement is made by Kensington Palace.

This certainly appears to have been the case in November 2012 when the Duchess of Cambridge found out she was pregnant with her first baby, Prince George.

Anticipating the media frenzy that would follow the discovery that Kate was expecting the couple's first child, if the theory is true, the Duchess tried to distract from any hints of a small baby bump by having her hair cut into a 70s-style long fringe.

As hoped, while all everyone could talk about was Kate's new retro cut, her pregnancy remained a secret. That is until hyperemesis gravidarum struck, forcing Kate and Prince William to announce their news early after Kate was hospitalised for a short period of time.

This same severe morning sickness condition has forced the couple to announce Kate's pregnancy before she reaches 12 weeks for all three of her pregnancies so far.

When Kate discovered she was pregnant with Charlotte in 2014, the Duchess once again hid behind her blow-dried bang, but she opted against getting quite the same cut as in 2012.

Here Kate is in July 2014 before finding out she was expecting another baby...

And, in August, just three weeks before the Kensington Palace officially announced that the couple were expecting their second child...

This year, before the announcement that the Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant with her third child, Kate threw everyone (apart from some astute members of the media) off by debuting a much shorter haircut at Wimbledon.

The cropped cut quickly became known as 'the lob' (long bob) and hairdressers quickly moved to copy the cut for their clients.

Just weeks after showing off her new cut in an array of hairstyles during an official tour of Germany and Poland with Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge pulled out of an solo official engagement and the news of her pregnancy broke.

So, if there is any chance of a fourth baby Cambridge and another child for Kate and William in the future, you know what secret signs to look for ahead of the official announcement...