police were making their final security checks outside st mary's hospital in paddington today, as the birth of the duke and duchess of cambridge's second child approaches with kate's due date is just over three days away, officers were out in force, pulling lamp posts apart as they scoured the area for anything troubling the police were watched by a small but growing group of royal fans, many of whom had set up camp on a set of benches and had decorated the area with posters and bunting scroll down for video  ready to go: john loughrey takes a nap on his makeshift bed outside the lindo wing in paddington  patriotic: royal fan terry hut takes a break on mr loughrey's bench  festive: mr hut sits with another veteran royal fan, margaret tyler, 71  leading the pack was a familiar face, that of self confessed royal 'superfan' john loughery, 60, who camped out overnight ahead of the 2011 royal wedding and was the only member of the public to attend every day of the inquest into the death of princess diana in 2008 mr loughery, a former chef, said at the time he hoped to go down in history for the feat and told the bbc that he wouldn't be surprised 'if a portrait of me is hanging inside kensington palace in 100 years from now' today, he was more concerned about the queen and her 89th birthday and happily showed off a handmade sign wishing her many happy returns along with group of fellow fans, mr loughery went on to delight the world's media   many of whom have gathered but have so far had little to do   with a chorus of happy birthday happy birthday: mr loughrey holds up a sign wishing the queen a very happy 89th  serenade: mr loughrey, mr hut and fellow fans also serenaded the monarch   and the press   with a song  decoration: mr loughrey and mr hut also came prepared with a selection of royal themed decorations  something to do: the press, who have had little to do so far, happily filmed the waiting fans  nearly there: the duchess of cambridge, pictured last month, is due to give birth on the 25th april  also watching proceedings was royal fan terry hut, 79, who, in his union flag suit, umbrella hat and sunglasses, provided the grey london street with a bright splash of colour mr hut, who came prepared with prince and princess balloons, is a veteran of several royal births and spent 12 days camping outside the lindo wing ahead of prince george's birth equally serious about the royal family is margaret tyler, 71, an avid collector of royal memorabilia who has amassed a trove worth more than £10,000 mrs tyler, who gave birth to her son andrew at the lindo wing, says she considers the royals to be part of her family and has been following their exploits for more than 40 years her collection of royal souvenirs, which includes a £1,200 bust of prince charles, is so vast, it takes up four rooms in her small terraced home in london memorabilia: mrs tyler, who has a royal collection worth £10,000, came prepared with a kate figurine  cheerful: despite their long wait, the group all appeared to be in good spirits  ready for action: mr hut and mr loughrey both came prepared with balloons and signs  serious business: while the royal fans sang, the police conducted a search of the area  like mr loughery and mr hut, mrs tyler was also at the lindo wing for the birth of prince george and ended up spending six days waiting for him to arrive 'i was there for six days,' she told a recent episode of bbc2 show collectaholics '[my son] andrew was born at st mary's and i was only there for two days 'i just wanted to feel close to them [william and kate], i suppose i spent the time meeting people, and chatting i was convinced it was going to be a girl, but it wasn't' the duchess of cambridge, who is currently at kensington palace, is expected to give birth within days and is due on the 25th april today, kensington palace announced that her husband prince william had completed his air ambulance training early, freeing him up to be with his wife and avoiding a two hour hospital dash from norfolk checks: they scoured the area for anything undesirable, watched by press and fans  final preparations: the duchess is due to give birth in just over three days  thorough: the police even searched inside the lamp posts outside the lindo wing  careful: the security searches at the lindo wing took most of the morning 
st mary's hospital cambridge two this week london paddington prince william air ambulance
superfans have set up camp outside st mary's hospital in paddington  police have also begun making final preparations and conducted a search  duchess of cambridge is due to give birth to baby number two this week  prince william has completed his air ambulance training course early  the royal will now be able to remain in london with his pregnant wife 