Chelsea Clinton pregnancy

In this image taken from video, Chelsea Clinton speaks to the audience as she co-hosts “Girls: A No Ceilings Conversation,” in New York, Thursday, April 17, 2014. The daughter of former president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, announced at the event that she is pregnant with her first child. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

NEW YORK– America’s former first daughter Chelsea Clinton announced in New York on Thursday that she is pregnant with her first baby, giving her parents Bill and Hillary a long-awaited grandchild.

Chelsea, 34, made the announcement at a public event with her mother organized by a Clinton Foundation initiative to advance the cause of women and girls around the world.

“Marc and I are very excited that we have our first child arriving later this year,” she told the audience at the Lower Eastside Girls Club to whoops of delight from the crowd.

“And I certainly feel all the better whether it’s a girl or a boy that she or he will grow up in a world full of so many strong female leaders,” Chelsea said.

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the presumed frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, beamed in delight.

She has often spoken of her eagerness in having a grandchild.

Chelsea married long-term boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky in 2010 and the couple live in Manhattan.