The royal baby is here. Kensington Palace has announced that Kate Middleton gave birth to a baby boy this morning.
Photo: Hannah McKay - Pool/Getty Images
The royal baby is here—and it's a boy. The happy news was announced on Twitter.
The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news.
The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth.
Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 23, 2018
The baby was born at 11:01 a.m. and weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces. Both the baby and mom are doing well. Prince William was by the Duchess's side for the birth.
The Queen and members of the royal family were of course delighted by the news.
The little prince was actually the biggest baby out of the Duke and Duchess's kids. Big brother Prince George weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces at birth and Princess Charlotte weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces.
An official notice of the birth was placed outside Buckingham Palace.
A notice has been placed on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace following the announcement of the birth of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's third child.@KensingtonRoyal pic.twitter.com/82ZCB7F2aQ
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 23, 2018
Being born on April 23 (St. George's Day, a feast day for the patron saint of England) means that the prince shares a birthday with William Shakespeare, Shirley Temple and fellow royal, Lady Gabriella Windsor.
Kate had a somewhat quick labour. She is believed to have arrived at St. Mary's Hospital very early in the morning, before 6 a.m. and delivered her son five hours later. With both Prince George and Princess Charlotte it's believed she had an unmedicated birth, and it's likely she had the same with royal baby #3.
The little prince was delivered by OBs, Alan Farthing (who is the Queen’s personal surgeon-gynaecologist) and Guy Thorpe-Beeston, a surgeon-gynaecologist to the royal household, and Kate's midwives. The Duchess actually has a medical team of 23 people on hand for her deliveries, but most of them are just there in case of an emergency.
The new prince is the fifth in line to the throne, after Prince Charles, his dad, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. His title will be His Royal Highness, the Prince of Cambridge. Now, William and Catherine have probably picked out a name, but they won't reveal it to the public for a few days. So the waiting continues for us. But oddsmakers believe Arthur or Albert to be the likely name.
Today is a huge day for Charlotte because she is the first princess in British history not to be bumped down in the line of succession by the birth of a younger male brother. Usually, if a boy is born, he automatically goes ahead of a girl in line to the throne. But in 2013, before Prince George's birth, the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013 was passed which made it so a female royal can retain her place in line to the throne. So, it's quite a big day for Charlotte in many ways—she became a big sister and made history!
So what happens now? Well, Kate's team, including her hairstylist Amanda Cook-Tucker and her assistant Natasha Archer, will arrive to help her get ready for the baby's big public debut. But before that, Prince William will quickly drive back to Kensington Palace to pick up George and Charlotte so they can come meet their new brother. This means pictures of the the adorable royal siblings. The proud dad will bring them into the hospital, but first they will wave the the cameras.
The kids will meet the baby and then slip out the back with the nanny to head home. A bit later, William, Kate and the royal baby will finally emerge from the hospital and we will get our first glimpse of the new prince. SO much cuteness.
Stay tuned because we will be back soon with photos from George and Charlotte's visit to the hospital.
Read more:
8 ways Kate Middleton's birth experience is bizarre
All of Kate Middleton's stylish maternity looks from her third pregnancy
What Prince William and Kate Middleton are really like as parents
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