Town Crier Tony Appleton announces that the Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby boy outside the Lindo wing at St Mary’s Hospital in London
For Kate, the wait is over. The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth yesterday to a healthy baby boy — a third child for Kate and Prince William and fifth in line to the British throne.
The couple’s Kensington Palace office announced news of the birth around lunchtime, about five hours after the 36-year-old duchess and her husband traveled by car from their Kensington Palace home to the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in central London.
The palace said the baby prince was born at 11:01 a.m. (1001 GMT) and weighed in at eight pounds, 3.8 kilograms. Prince William was in attendance, and the palace said mother and child were both doing well.
“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 palace said in a statement.
Mixing tradition and modernity, the news was announced by the palace on Twitter and also proclaimed in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace through a framed notice perched on a golden easel.
Tony Appleton, a town crier from southeast England, showed up in full regalia to declare the newborn prince’s birth outside the hospital. The words “It’s a boy” flashed in lights around the top of London’s BT Tower, which can be seen for miles around.
More ceremonial celebration is to come, including the pealing of bells at Westminster Abbey and a gun salute in London’s Hyde Park.
The baby is a younger brother to 4-year-old Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who turns 3 next week. Both were born at the same hospital, as were William and his younger brother, Prince Harry.
The infant’s name, which has been subject to a flurry of bets, hasn’t been announced. Arthur and James are among bookmakers’ favorites for the new prince, whose full title will be His Royal Highness, Prince (Name) of Cambridge.
Monday is St. George’s Day, England’s national day, but the baby is unlikely to be given the name since his older brother already has it.
The new arrival is Queen Elizabeth II’s sixth great-grandchild and bumps Prince Harry to sixth place in the line of succession. The baby is fifth in line, after grandfather Prince Charles, father Prince William and his two siblings.
Charlotte is the first royal daughter to stay ahead of a younger brother in the line of succession. Before the rules were changed in 2012, male heirs took precedence. Jill Lawless, London, AP
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