LONDON - Prince William's pregnant wife Kate has been taken to hospital ahead of the birth of the couple's first child who will be third in line to the British throne, his office said on Monday.

Kate was taken to the private Lindo wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, west London, where William himself was born in 1982. The baby is due to be delivered by Marcus Setchell, Queen Elizabeth's former gynaecologist.

"The Duchess travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital with The Duke of Cambridge," Kensington Palace said in a statement.