That’s been on our minds since Kate Middleton and Prince William tied the knot. When the Duchess of Cambridge announced she was pregnant, a flurry of mock-up baby photos began circulating, ranging from questionably cute to truly creepy.
But with Kate halfway into her pregnancy, a new set of baby photos is making us optimistic. Nickolay Lamm and Nikolett Mérész from MyVoucherCodes.co.uk worked with Jenny Chen of the Broad Institute of Harvard-MIT to create illustrations of what Kate and Will’s kids might look like at age 25.
Chen based her predictions on trends scientists have noticed in studying the genetics of facial features. While nothing about the royal baby’s appearance can be guaranteed, there are certain genetic traits that are more likely to appear than others. Chen predicted the following:
Blue or green eyes: Will will definitely pass on a “blue eye” gene while Kate could pass on blue eyes (from her mother) or green eyes. This means that the child has about equal chances of getting green eyes, like Kate, or blue eyes, like Will. The hypothetical illustrations both show blue eyes.
Brown hair: Dark hair is dominant so it’s likely that their child will have dark hair. There is a chance that Kate is carrying a “blond hair” gene that is being hidden by her “brown hair” gene. This gives their kids a small chance of having blond hair like Will. Dimples: Because Kate has prominent dimples, which is a dominant trait, her kids are likely to have dimples as well. At the same time, Kate could be carrying a “no dimple” gene that is being masked.
Wavy hair: Because Kate has wavy hair it’s likely that her kids will have wavy hair as well because curly hair is dominant over straight hair.
Heart-shaped faces: Because prominent chins tend to be dominant over less prominent chins, it’s likely that their kids will have Kate’s pointy chin. “Heart-shaped faces” usually refers to a softer jaw line which is more characteristic amongst females. So Kate’s daughters will probably inherit her heart-shaped face while her son’s are
likely to have Will’s jawline.
Olive skin: Darker skin is dominant over lighter skin, so their children will likely have olive skin color, like Kate.
