London, March 7 : Bookmakers have stopped taking bets on the sex of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s child after Kate appeared to accidentally reveal the sex of her unborn baby during a visit to Grimsby.

The Duchess, who is five months pregnant, apparently hinted that she is expecting a girl when she stopped herself saying the word "daughter" as she was presented with a teddy bear from a well-wisher, the Mirror reported.

Accepting the soft toy, smiling Kate said: “Thank you, I will take that for my d...” before hastily stopping herself.

Her slip-up has sparked speculation that Britain is destined for another Queen.

The Duchess later denied she knew the sex of the child, but her slip-up has brought joy to punters who had bet on a future Queen while bookies went into meltdown.

Following the slip-up, Coral’s and William Hill have stopped taking bets on the sex of the royal child, Ladbrokes has cut its odds while Paddy Power is paying out thousands early to punters who had gone for a girl.

“We closed the book, as it was a rather strong hint!” the paper quoted a Coral’s spokesman as saying.

Ladbrokes slashed its odds from 4/5 to 1/2 on a baby girl, and making a boy the outside bet at 6/4.

William Hill has suspended its betting on the gender of the royal baby following a flood of bets from punters putting their money on a girl.

“Although the story is by no means conclusive, our customers came piling in and we were forced to suspend the market 10pm on Tuesday evening," said Rupert Adams, a spokesman for company.

Elizabeth, Diana and Victoria are the most favoured names for the baby and brunette is top choice for hair colour. (ANI)