Two men hold boards bearing betting odds for names of the new royal baby during a PR stunt outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in central London, on Friday. Britain's Katherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is due to give birth to her second child at the hospital in the next few days.

AFP/London

There was still no sign on Friday of Britain's royal baby but two giant teddy bears did make an appearance outside St Mary's Hospital in London where Prince William's wife Kate is due to give birth any day now.

The bears were paid for by bookmaker William Hill, which has been taking bets on everything from the name of the new prince or princess to who his or her godparents will be.

One of the three-metre-high bears was adorned with a pink sash while the other had a blue one since the parents-to-be have given no indication of whether it will be a boy or girl.

Despite rumours circling in the Twittersphere on Friday there was no sign of the Duchess of Cambridge at the hospital.

Two men in royal guard costumes came out of the van carrying the bears, holding up posters with the bookmaker's odds.

"We think it's imminent so we decided to come down and give Kate some moral support," said one of the men, who wore the traditional royal red uniforms with bearskin hats.

A flurry of photos later, the lorry was quickly moved on by the PR team for the hospital towards an area where television satellite trucks have been parked for days.

Some tourists came to see what was going on and catch a glimpse of the royal watchers - all decked out in Union Jack colours - who have camped in the area for a week.

"In Japan they are very interested by the baby. We feel very lucky to be here," said Keiko Kiyosu, a Japanese tourist in her 40s.

"Luckily our hotel is very near here," she said.

Oliver, a German tourist who came with his family for a long weekend in London, said: "We are a bit disappointed. We thought there would be more people.

"When they show it on TV, it always looks like there is a big crowd but actually there are only a few crazy ones," he said.

But his 12-year-old daughter Katharina looked happy enough, taking pictures of the monarchists and the fake royal guards.

She asked for her picture to be taken cradling her backpack like a baby, making her parents burst out laughing.