Royal baby: Lindo Wing maternity patients holding off birth until Kate Middleton arrives

With Kate Middleton due to go into labour any day now, it has emerged that even maternity patients at St Mary's hospital have royal baby fever.

According to Us Weekly, some soon-to-be mothers have claimed that they don't want to give birth until the Duchess of Cambridge arrives at the Lindo Wing of the Paddington hospital.

"It's a beautiful private hospital. Pale polished wood floors, comfortable leather sofas for patients, freshly painted cream walls," the source adds. "It's a great place to have a baby."

Although their plan to give birth on the same day as the Duchess may have been intended as a joke, it would mean that they would be eligible to receive one of 2,015 free "lucky" silver pennies.

The Royal Mint recently announced that it will mark the arrival of the second royal baby in the same way it commemorated the arrival of Prince George in 2013.

"It is a fitting gesture to welcome the eagerly anticipated future prince or princess and also in keeping with an age-old tradition to mark a new birth with a gift of silver for good luck," a spokesperson said.

But while some mothers may be hoping that their offspring shares the same birth day as royalty, they are keen not to add to the stress of labour – especially since Kate is reportedly several days overdue.

"It's all very British — keep calm and all that. I think if Kate were to walk in, the majority of people there would pretend they didn't notice her. No one wants to add to the hysteria outside," an anonymous Lindo Wing patient told Us.

"It's business as usual for the doctors, nurses, and midwives working there. They're used to important people coming in. They're all doing a great job of ignoring the fact there's a slight odd situation going on outside."

On 30 April speculation was rife that Duchess may have gone into labour after a royal convoy was reportedly spotted leaving Kensington Palace, where she has been staying at with husband Prince William ahead of the birth.