Och a-bye baby: Can new royal baby save the UK?

Union Jacks were out for the Duchess of Cambridge during her visit to Wellington but can the news of a royal pregnancy keep the UK alive?

With the referendum for Scottish independence too close to call, the news Kate and William are expecting a second child could stop Scotland from voting "yes" and destroying the UK

Another royal baby is on the way. First things first: this is, primarily, a story of simple joy and happiness for a young family. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are, presumably, delighted at this news, and so we should be too; anyone who can't find a bit of cheer in their heart over something like this is truly a world-class curmudgeon.

Still, the Duke, the Duchess and their unborn child are not simply private individuals. What they do has importance beyond their own family. It matters to the UK and its future. And that future is very much in question. So what will news of a new royal baby mean to the debate over Scottish referendum?

Perhaps it'll boost the cause of those who want Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom and vote no to independence. After all, the royal family are at least supposed to be the union incarnate, the physical embodiment of the ties that bind the UK together. While the rest of the UK still tends to describe themselves as English/Scottish/Welsh *and* British, the Royals have no national identifier - or more accurately, they have all of them: the Queen, for instance, is English, Welsh and Scottish. She is British.

In the modern age, admiration of the royals can seem a rather peculiar, even irrational thing, an old-fashioned idea born of emotion, myth and even superstition. A few centuries ago, people believed that the king's touch could cure disease and while we've moved on from that, there's still an implied belief that the royals remain special and different. Magical, if you like.

Frankly, magic is just what the campaign for the Union has lacked. That's made the referendum an unequal fight, because the nationalist-led case for independence has emotion, myth and magic to spare. Scotland's First Minister and leader of the independence campaign, Alex Salmond, is succeeding in part because he's telling a stirring story of Scotland as a better country alone. The No campaign has failed to counter that with its own story of shared history. A Royal baby is part of that story, and - if Prince George is any guide - a damned cute part at that.

Voters split ahead of Scottish independence vote

So maybe, just maybe, a new focus on the royals will cause Scots to waver, and cleave back to the Union.

But does it really work that way? There are reasons to doubt whether the Royal baby magic will work on Scots.

For one thing, some Scots appear less enamoured of the royals than the rest of the UK. Polls suggest that only around 40 per cent of those planning to vote Yes in the referendum would want to keep the Queen as head of State after independence; the majority want a republic.

Alex Salmond has promised that an independent Scotland could keep the Queen as monarch, but others in his party, the SNP, are more inclined to republicanism.

Finally, and perhaps more importantly, the timing. This just looks too neat, too convenient. All concerned will deny it utterly, of course, but an awful lot of people will look at this announcement and suspect it has been made with the intention of swaying the Scottish vote. And if that sounds a little paranoid or conspiratorial, consider the nature of the Scottish debate so far. Suspicion, even cynicism, abounds in Scotland. According to YouGov, a quarter of Scots think MI5 is "probably" trying to influence the vote, 42 per cent think politicians in London are lying about Scottish oil reserves, and 19 per cent think the referendum will "probably" be rigged.

Amid such feelings of suspicion, it seems likely that at least some Scots will see the royal pregnancy as just another Establishment ploy. Even those not given to conspiracy theories may just be mildly insulted by the idea that they would decide something as important as the future of their nation on the basis of a pretty lady in a dress having a baby.

So while Unionists may be tempted to see the royal pregnancy as a potential boost their campaign, they may well be better advised simply to say nothing about it all beyond "Congratulations, Your Royal Highnesses."