article_snippet.sent: (CNN)As the Great Kate Wait of 2015 drags on, giving a whole new meaning to Kate's somewhat unfair noughties nickname, "Waity Katie," bets on the arrival of a new baby a girl continue to be placed at a feverish rate.
article_snippet.sent: As of today, 70% of those laying down 70% of those laying down their hard earned cash hard earned cash are convinced the world is on the verge of welcoming a new princess.
article_snippet.sent: I suspect different parties are hoping for a girl for different reasons.
article_snippet.sent: Based on the so called "Kate Effect" and subsequent "George Effect," the great British High Street is no doubt salivating at the prospect of record sales should HRH Princess (fill in the blank) of Cambridge be spotted in one of their outfits.
article_snippet.sent: As one headline blared this week, "Baby girl could be worth $1.5 billion to the country.
article_snippet.sent: Magazine and newspaper editors are well aware of the dramatic rise in sales when a royal baby hits the cover, especially a little girl.
article_snippet.sent: And then there's Disney, which will always appreciate princesses in the zeitgeist, but as with all things relating to the monarchy, there is also a far greater historical significance should a baby girl arrive.
article_snippet.sent: Prince Charles has made no secret of Prince Charles desire to slim down the monarchy, but in looking at Prince Charles family's immediate bloodline -- William, Harry and George -- it stands to be a heavily male-dominated one.
article_snippet.sent: In an institution viewed by some as archaic and out of touch, it is imperative to have a strong female presence.
article_snippet.sent: Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, also true blood princesses, are not "working members" of the royal family and generally only roll out for state and ceremonial occasions.
article_snippet.sent: So, yes, it would be nice for the baby to be a girl so that we can all ooh and ah over frilly dresses, fairy wings and ballet shoes (although as a brand Windsor Princess Anne -- Baby Cambridge's great-aunt --'s more likely to be mucking out stables and shooting pheasant), but in truth the birth of a girl matters on a far deeper level: the monarchy needs a baby girl to fill the female void of future generations.
article_snippet.sent: In the event the couple welcomes a boy, however, I sincerely hope there won't be a collective groan of disappointment heard around the world -- after all on the few occasions we have seen George George has been a veritable treat.
article_snippet.sent: the birth of a baby girl is cause for celebration regardless of gender, race, religion or indeed status, and as Prince Harry, the world's most eligible bachelor has shown, games of naked billiards can sell magazines too.
article_snippet.sent: : Please don't name the royal baby Diana .
highlights_snippet.sent: Victoria Arbiter argues the royal family needs a baby girl to fill the female void of future generations .