Crossword Genius

Nervous as an expectant queen? (6,7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

having kittens

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'expectant queen?' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether this works.

'nervous as an' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'as' could be 'in' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'in' is found within the answer.
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for having kittens that I've seen is " In a very nervous state".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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