US goes gaga over Britain's bouncing royal baby to be

WASHINGTON (AFP) - News that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, aka Prince William and wife Kate, are having a baby lifted Americans' fascination with the British royal family to new heights on Tuesday.

Mainstream media and showbiz websites alike fell over themselves with breathless updates on Kate Middleton's morning sickness, Prince William's hospital visits and what it all means for a monarchy America rejected in 1776.

"Kate's pregnant," trumpeted USA Today atop its front page, inviting readers to dive into three inside pages of "royally complete coverage" dedicated to such pressing concerns as what the baby's name will be.

"It's a reassuring symbol of continuity for the monarchy and, by extension, the United Kingdom itself," it said, explaining how the "already stable Windsor dynasty" has now been "bolstered again" by the royal pregnancy. The Wall Street Journal made "father in waiting" William its front-page photo, taking the edge off the lead story about the looming US fiscal cliff.