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Royal Family Says Duchess of Cambridge Is in Labor
Duchess of Cambridge Gives Birth to a Boy
(about 4 hours later)
LONDON — After months of ever more frenetic anticipation and speculation in Britain and around the world, the Duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton, entered St. Mary’s Hospital in the Paddington district of London on Monday to prepare for the birth of her first child and was “in the early stages of labor,” the royal family announced.
LONDON — With royal fanfare tweeted instantly around the world, Buckingham Palace on Monday announced the birth of a boy to Prince William and his wife, the former Kate Middleton, placing a framed proclamation on an easel at the palace gates.
A message on Twitter was the first of a series of carefully scripted disclosures set to culminate in the announcement of an event that seems certain to draw unparalleled media coverage, even in the annals of Britain’s headline-making royal family. Because of recent changes in the law of succession, the baby will be third in line to the throne whether it is a boy or a girl and will remain so whatever the sex of subsequent children.
“Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4:24 today,” the statement proclaimed, nearly five hours after the actual birth. “Her royal highness and the child are both doing well.”
A palace statement said the child weighed eight pounds six ounces and that William had been present. Mother and baby would remain in the hospital overnight.
No name was immediately announced. The child is third in line to the throne.
The announcement came more than 12 hours after Buckingham Palace said early Monday morning that the 31-year-old duchess had gone to St. Mary’s Hospital in London in the early stages of labor. Then not another word emerged from royal officials, beyond the bland assurance from palace officials that matters were “progressing normally.”
Queen Elizabeth offered a faint signal that an early development might be at hand when she left her preferred London quarters at Windsor Palace and drove the 20 miles to Buckingham Palace. That put her in position to be on hand, her royal standard fluttering, when the birth was announced.
A message on Twitter was the first of a series of carefully scripted disclosures that culminated in the announcement of an event that appeared to be drawing unparalleled media coverage, even in the annals of Britain’s headline-making royal family. Live-streaming cameras have been trained on the hospital, and even on the easel where the announcement of the birth was formally posted.
“Her royal highness the Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, in the early stages of labour,” said a message from Clarence House, the official residence of the duchess and her husband, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge.
“Her royal highness the Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, in the early stages of labour,” said a message from Clarence House, the official residence of the duchess and her husband, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge.
The duchess had traveled by car to the hospital from another royal residence, Kensington Palace, a second message said. Reporters outside the hospital said the couple had slipped in through a side entrance, largely unobserved by the waiting press corps.
The duchess had traveled by car to the hospital from another royal residence, Kensington Palace, a second message said. Reporters outside the hospital said the couple had slipped in through a side entrance, largely unobserved by the waiting press corps.
A spokesman for the couple, speaking in return for customary anonymity, said that the duke and duchess had traveled without a police escort. “Things are progressing as normal,” the spokesman said.
The couple met in the early 2000s, when both were students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and their relationship, which was later hailed as a fairy tale union, proceeded sporadically for several years until their wedding in April 2011.
There has been no official word on whether the duke and duchess, both 31, are expecting a boy or a girl, and information about the birth is expected to be closely restricted.
In some ways, the phantom of William’s mother, the late Princess Diana, has hovered over the couple, and he has frequently made it clear that he wants to protect his wife from the intense media scrutiny associated with his mother.
The formal announcement that a baby has been born will be made in a statement driven by car from the hospital across London and posted on an easel on the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
Nevertheless, for weeks, photographers and camera crews have camped out with stepladders and other equipment outside St. Mary’s, where William, now a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue helicopter pilot, was himself born in June 1982. His brother, Harry, was born there in 1984.
The parents met in the early 2000s when both were students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and their relationship, which was later hailed as a fairy tale union, proceeded sporadically for several years until their wedding in April 2011.
The period preceding the birth, however, was marked by a display of restraint among Britain’s usually aggressive tabloids, with no sign of photographs of the royal couple from clandestine stakeouts.
In some ways, the phantom of William’s mother, Princess Diana, has hovered over Kate and William, and the duke has frequently made it clear that he wants to protect his wife from the intense media scrutiny associated with his mother.
For weeks, photographers and camera crews have camped out with stepladders and other equipment outside St. Mary’s, where William, now a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue helicopter pilot, was himself born in June 1982. His brother, Harry, was also born there in 1984.
The period preceding the birth, however, has been marked by a remarkable display of restraint among Britain’s usually aggressive tabloids, with no sign of photographs being published after clandestine stakeouts of the royal couple.
Intrusive and highly competitive coverage of royal events was common for decades. But Britain’s tabloids have been chastened by public opprobrium resulting from a phone-hacking scandal that led to broad scrutiny by Parliament, the public and the police of the way the media operate.
Intrusive and highly competitive coverage of royal events was common for decades. But Britain’s tabloids have been chastened by public opprobrium resulting from a phone-hacking scandal that led to broad scrutiny by Parliament, the public and the police of the way the media operate.
The baby is expected to be known formally as the Prince or Princess of Cambridge. In the line of succession, the child will be third after Prince Charles, 64, and William, 31. Prince Harry will be fourth.
The baby is expected to be known formally as the Prince of Cambridge. In the line of succession, he will be third after Prince Charles, 64, and William, 31. Prince Harry will be fourth.
The expected birth has been depicted as offering a likely counterpoint to Britain’s economic austerity, buoying a public mood that has been elevated by a series of sporting successes in cricket, rugby and cycling after London hosted the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. An unusual heat wave, meanwhile, has brought picnickers and strollers out in droves across the land in parks, on beaches and at heaths and wilderness areas.
The excitement over the birth has been depicted as offering a likely counterpoint to Britain’s economic austerity, buoying a public mood that has been elevated by a series of sporting successes in cricket, rugby and cycling after London hosted the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. An unusual heat wave, meanwhile, has brought picnickers and strollers out in droves across the land in parks, on beaches and at heaths and wilderness areas.
The medical team in charge of the birth includes two senior royal gynecologists, Marcus Setchell and Alan Farthing, news reports said.
The medical team in charge of the birth included two senior royal gynecologists, Marcus Setchell and Alan Farthing, news reports said.
The duchess is in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital, a private obstetric unit charging about $7,500 for normal delivery facilities over 24 hours, apart from consultants’ fees running at about $9,000.
The duchess was in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital, a private obstetric unit charging about $7,500 for normal delivery facilities over 24 hours, apart from consultants’ fees running at about $9,000.
During a public function at a military barracks in March, a soldier asked her if she knew whether the baby was a boy or a girl, and she replied, “Not yet,” news reports said at the time. The soldier was quoted as saying: “She said, ‘I’d like to have a boy, and William would like a girl.’ That’s always the way.”
As word of the duchess’s hospitalization whizzed around the world on television, the Internet and social media, the royal family itself put on a determined display of sang-froid, keeping to official engagements and announcing forthcoming public appearances. Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, now expecting his first grandchild, visited the National Railway Museum in York.
Several hours after the initial announcement of the duchess’s hospitalization, he was asked if he had heard any news of the birth, and he told Sky News, “Absolutely nothing at the moment, we’re waiting.” Public engagements to be undertaken by his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, included a visit on Tuesday to an award-winning fish and chip shop in Bridlington, Yorkshire, according to the royal Web site.
Across the way from the hospital in London on Monday, well-wishers joined the news crews as the temperatures soared to the upper 80s and beyond. By late afternoon, the wait was in its 12th hour since the duchess entered the hospital at around 6 a.m.
In the scorching afternoon, representatives of drinks companies seeking to associate their band with the royal birth handed out sodas and ice cream to the sunstruck crowd, and a hospital cafe made brisk business selling water and other cold drinks.
Bookmakers said that betting on names had surged since the morning, with the name “Charlotte” particularly popular. But in a sample of two dozen cupcakes handed out by a best-selling parenting magazine, the half glazed in blue went much faster than the pink half, the deputy editor, Jo Bounds, said, suggesting support for a boy.
Wrapped in Union Jack flags, Maria Scott and her daughter Amy sat on a wooden bench next to the tent in which they had been sleeping since taking the train from Newcastle, in the country’s northeast, on Saturday to be closer to the royal couple. “I hope the baby comes soon because it’s been quite hot sleeping in there,” said Ms. Scott, 42, nodding at the tent.
“I’m a huge fan of the young royals,” she said. “They have that special touch with people no matter what race or gender.”
Lucy Corke, a doctor from Brisbane, Australia, who was in London as a tourist, said she heard some sirens from her hotel room nearby at about 6 a.m. and wanted to see whether the baby had arrived yet. “I wanted to see how much craziness there is,” she said, pointing at the large group of journalists, tourists and royal-watchers waiting outside the hospital. “I hope it will be a boy,” she said. “A little prince. I think that would be exciting.”
For their part, British retailers, hotels and ceramics factories were betting on the arrival of the royal baby to improve the otherwise gloomy economic situation.
Dave Lockett, the owner of a company called Edwardian China, said the pottery manufacturer would be painting the name and date of birth of the new royal on more than 10,000 commemorative plates and other ceramics that were prepared weeks ago.
“We made them pretty generic so that it could be either a boy or girl,” said Mr. Lockett, who had to hire extra staff members to cope with the order load. “Then it was just a matter of waiting for the big day.”
Outside Buckingham Palace, a small crowd of well-wishers began to gather Monday morning, mingling with tourists enjoying London’s sunny weather. Larissa Milare, a law student from São Paulo, Brazil, said she had timed her vacation to Britain to coincide with the royal birth.
“I came to London in 2011 when Kate got married — I came specially for the wedding — and now I want to see the announcement,” she said.
“I really like her, she’s really beautiful and special. In Brazil, all the TV and entertainment channels and newspapers show pictures of the royal family,” added Ms. Milare, who said she thought the royal baby would be a girl.
Douglas Johnston, an engineer, and Victoria Wallace, a retail manager, both from Glasgow, said that they were on a planned sightseeing trip to London but had hoped that it would coincide with the royal birth.
“I was hoping and praying that she didn’t go into labor until we got here,” said Ms. Wallace, who added that she hoped that if the baby was a girl, she would be given her name, Victoria.
“It is a glorious day, and it is fantastic to be part of it,” said Mr. Johnston, who said he would wait as long as necessary for the birth announcement. “I am 30, so in my adult lifetime this is unprecedented, and I may not get the chance to see this again.”
John F. Burns, Sarah Lyall, Julia Werdigier, Stephen Castle and Katrin Bennhold contributed reporting.
John F. Burns, Sarah Lyall, Julia Werdigier, Stephen Castle and Katrin Bennhold contributed reporting.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: July 22, 2013
Correction: July 22, 2013
An earlier version of a photo caption accompanying this article stated incorrectly that Kate Middleton had entered St. Mary’s Hospital on Monday. The photo is from February when she visited an addiction treatment center in London.
An earlier version of a photo caption accompanying this article stated incorrectly that Kate Middleton had entered St. Mary’s Hospital on Monday. The photo is from February when she visited an addiction treatment center in London.
