Dear Catherine,

I heard yesterday the big news, gleefully squawked and squeaked from the world's media, into my living room, that you are pregnant.

My experience with pregnancy is that it is a time when anything and everything is possible: joy, despair, terror, hope, tears, laughter, sickness, brilliant bloom and body changes. If anything, it's also a time when you can feel completely out of control.

Pregnancy is a time of emotional flux. You'll find things out about yourself that you never realised. You might find you change in some ways, or grow in others. You may just want to sit on the couch sometimes and eat everything that's in your fridge, or you may want to get outside all the time.

And all the while, you're waiting, often impatiently, to meet the new little person you're bringing into the world and you're wondering if you're up for it, being a parent and caring for your child and teaching them and loving them and helpin them to live well in this difficult world. 

So congratulations, but also commiserations. Because pregnancy ought to be experienced in a quiet place, in a quiet way, with nothing but love and affirmation and support. I really hope you can find this space for yourself.

My small contribution to that space will be this: While I'll await your news with interest, I will not actively seek out any news stories about your pregnancy, nor will I read or buy magazines with your image as the feature. In this way, I'll boycott the speculative, rumour mill media frenzy that is likely to surround you, and do my part to leave you in peace.

Blessings to you, and I hope your pregnancy and your birth is all you hope it to be, and that your baby is healthy and well and a delight to you and Prince William.