Kate Middleton: Duchess of Cambridge fuels baby girl rumours after 'buying pink paint'

Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, has fuelled rumours once again that she is pregnant with a baby girl after reportedly buying pink paint.

According to the Mail Online, Oxford interior design company Annie Sloan delivered three "feminine" paint samples to Amner Hall where the duchess, 33, resides with husband Prince William and their one-year-old son Prince George.

The colours in question are reported to be Henrietta, described as a "beautiful rich complex pink with a hint of lilac", Antoinette, a "soft pale pink with a hint of brown" and "old-fashioned roses and the colour of old plaster", and Emile, a "warm soft aubergine colour with pink red undertones".

The website reports that the paint comes with an expensive price tag – one litre is said to cost £18.95 ($28).

Annie Sloan told the publication that it could neither "confirm or deny" the reported purchase, while Kensington Palace refused to comment.

It all adds to mounting speculation that the duchess is expecting a daughter – in March, People magazine reported that the royal was spotted looking at baby clothes in the girls' section of Amaia, a children's boutique.

The store's co-owner Segolene Tresca reportedly told the publication: "She was looking at all the girls' clothing. She was very interested."

Bookmaker Ladbrokes also revealed that it is predicting the duchess to give birth to a girl, with odds on favourite at 4-5 and for a boy, at 11-10.

It was recently claimed that Middleton believes she is expecting a girl because of her sugar cravings. An insider told the Mail on Sunday: "Prince William has always had a sweet tooth, but Kate has really had sweet cravings during this pregnancy.

"She could barely keep anything down in the first months of her preg­nancy but recently she just cannot get enough of naughty treats."

The duchess is expected to welcome her second child towards the end of April.