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Thoroughly Modern Majesty

In the 1980s, Charles and Diana (above, with baby Will) had a more reserved parenting style. Today’s royals are expected to be more hands-on.

In the 1980s, Charles and Diana (above, with baby Will) had a more reserved parenting style. Today’s royals are expected to be more hands-on. (AP)

In the 1980s, Charles and Diana (above, with baby Will) had a more reserved parenting style. Today’s royals are expected to be more hands-on. (AP)

Kate and William

Kate and William (Getty Images)

It’s only just been announced that Kate and William are expecting their first child, but one thing’s for sure: They won’t be setting up a flashy Jessica Simpson-style birth registry anytime soon, complete with Swarovski crystal-studded high chairs or the Gucci version of the Baby Björn.

Send them a $500 engraved silver christening cup from Tiffany’s, and it’ll be returned pronto by their office with a polite note of thanks and the suggestion that you make a contribution instead to their charitable trust.

“People will be actively discouraged from buying gifts, just as they were advised not to give wedding presents in the months ahead of their marriage,” says seasoned British royal watcher Joe Little, the managing editor of London-based Majesty magazine. “They are very much the modern couple who are determined to do things their own way.”

Flying in the face of tradition is something for which the couple, both 30 years old, has become famous. Kate is a commoner (descended from a mining family, no less), they lived together for almost a decade before getting married and, shock horror, as the whole world knows, the future queen of England has a penchant for sunbathing topless.

So don’t expect their style of pregnancy and parenting to follow the crusty old protocols from a time when royal children were handed over to a team of nannies and very much seen and not heard.

“They are going to be much more involved and hands-on than past royal parents,” says Little, pointing out that William was greatly influenced by his mother, Diana, who took as interactive an approach as she could with him and his brother, Harry, in the 1980s. “It’s just . . . [Kate and William’s] way of doing things.”

The pair divide their time between their London apartment within Kensington Palace and a rented farmhouse on the Welsh island of Anglesey close to William’s RAF base where he works as a helicopter pilot.

It’s here that they feel most at home.

“They don’t like to be surrounded by staff,” says Little. “They more or less look after themselves, where Kate does the cooking and William pitches in.

“A daily [housekeeper coming] in to do the cleaning is as good as it gets.”

He believes the pair would rather keep the status quo once the baby arrives rather than move full-time to London. A live-in nanny is anathema to them because of the intrusion on their privacy, although they know they will need help with child care once Kate resumes her royal duties.

“It’s an idyllic existence, and I think William will want to remain in the military and in Wales for as long as possible,” he adds. “Who can blame them? Where better to bring up a young child than in relative informality?”

Katie Nicholl, who chronicled the couple’s relationship in her book, “The Making of a Royal Romance,” agrees.

“They absolutely yearn to lead as normal a life as possible,” she says. “Having a baby is a very private thing, and I expect they will want to enjoy this time privately at their home on Anglesey.”

Nevertheless the birth will almost definitely take place in the nation’s capital. Unlike his father Prince Charles, who was born in Buckingham Palace, William was delivered in the hospital, and his child will likely follow suit.

Royal watchers believe the parents will favor either William’s birthplace, St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, which has a 17-bed private labor unit, or the rival Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which built a similar luxurious maternity wing in 2009.

As for whether the baby is a boy or a girl, Nicholl believes the gender will remain a close secret.

“Again, they’re a very private couple, and I don’t think they’d want that information out there,” she says. “I’ll imagine they’ll keep it as a complete surprise.”

Interestingly, an important rule change made last year to the line of succession of the British royal family means that, for the first time in history, if a baby girl is born first, she will eventually become queen.

“I expect Kate and William are just hoping for a healthy baby of either sex,” says Sarah Ivens Moffett, an author and former editor-in-chief of the US edition of OK! magazine who frequently writes about the royals. “But it would be very exciting and fitting if they had a little girl because this would change things up right away.”

As for the name, don’t expect them to choose something outrageous like Hashtag. According to Little, it will be a combination of contemporary and tradition.

“If it’s a boy, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a Philip or an Arthur or a George or a Louis in there because of his father and his grandfather’s names,” he says. “And, if it’s a girl, Diana would be a very appropriate middle name in honor of William’s mother.”

As soon as the pregnancy news was announced yesterday, British bookie Paddy Power set the odds for likely baby names with Mary, Victoria and John all favorites at 8 to 1.

While names are expected to be classic, Kate is likely to blaze a trail with maternity fashion. While Princess Diana spent her pregnancy years cocooned in billowing printed fabric dresses with mumsy collars, Kate is famed for her fitted, flattering styles, which she’s likely to adapt even with a baby onboard. The baby’s wardrobe should also be on-trend.

“I think just as Kate mixes and matches [designers] with Zara, the baby will do the same,” says British mommy guru and maternity-wear maven Rosie Pope. Although when the child is first-born, Pope expects Kate to have some fun with infant wear: “I think when the baby first comes out, you’ll find a lot of pictures of traditional baby clothes — heavy smocking and lots of buttons — from designer Rachel Riley.”

Kate is also likely to shower her baby with tons of affection, in contrast to the more aloof parenting style of the royal family in the past.

“Notoriously Prince Charles had appendicitis [when he was 13] and the queen did not visit him in the hospital. I think they will be entirely the opposite,” says Pope.

Leslie Venokur, co-founder of Big City Moms, agrees: “I think they’ll be very much like Ben [Affleck] and Jennifer [Garner]. They’re very hands-on, playful parents yet they try to keep their children out of the spotlight at all times.”