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| Royal Couple Make First Appearance with Infant Son | |
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| LONDON — After a long day spent in the privacy of a hospital maternity suite, Prince William and his wife, the former Kate Middleton, emerged on Tuesday evening into the public spotlight outside, taking turns cradling their infant son, with Prince William telling reporters massed on the sidewalk that “We’re still working on a name.” | LONDON — After a long day spent in the privacy of a hospital maternity suite, Prince William and his wife, the former Kate Middleton, emerged on Tuesday evening into the public spotlight outside, taking turns cradling their infant son, with Prince William telling reporters massed on the sidewalk that “We’re still working on a name.” |
| The baby — third in line to the royal throne after Prince Charles, his paternal grandfather, and Prince William, his 31-year-old father — appeared to sleep throughout the two-minute hubbub that ensued when the royal couple stepped through the doorway of the Lindo wing, the private annex to St. Mary’s Hospital in the London district of Paddington, at 7:15 p.m. London time. | The baby — third in line to the royal throne after Prince Charles, his paternal grandfather, and Prince William, his 31-year-old father — appeared to sleep throughout the two-minute hubbub that ensued when the royal couple stepped through the doorway of the Lindo wing, the private annex to St. Mary’s Hospital in the London district of Paddington, at 7:15 p.m. London time. |
| “He’s got a good pair of lungs on him, that’s for sure,” Prince William said in response to questions from a packed gallery of reporters and photographers, as he held the infant in his arms, with Kate, formally known as the Duchess of Cambridge, standing beside him. “He’s a big boy. He’s quite heavy. We’re still working on a name, but we will have that as soon as we can.” | “He’s got a good pair of lungs on him, that’s for sure,” Prince William said in response to questions from a packed gallery of reporters and photographers, as he held the infant in his arms, with Kate, formally known as the Duchess of Cambridge, standing beside him. “He’s a big boy. He’s quite heavy. We’re still working on a name, but we will have that as soon as we can.” |
| The couple had waited 27 hours after the baby’s birth at 4:24 p.m. on Monday before emerging to the cheers and shouts of good will from the crowds waiting outside, including uniformed members of the hospital staff. | The couple had waited 27 hours after the baby’s birth at 4:24 p.m. on Monday before emerging to the cheers and shouts of good will from the crowds waiting outside, including uniformed members of the hospital staff. |
| Striking an informal note that suggested something about the changes they may wish eventually to bring to royal life, the duchess was hatless and wearing a short-sleeved blue polka-dot summer dress, with William in black jeans and an open-necked blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up. | Striking an informal note that suggested something about the changes they may wish eventually to bring to royal life, the duchess was hatless and wearing a short-sleeved blue polka-dot summer dress, with William in black jeans and an open-necked blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up. |
| Kate, who held the baby with one arm to wave, passed the child carefully to her husband before they crossed the road to speak with reporters, described her feelings as “very emotional,” and added, “Any parent will know what that’s like.” | Kate, who held the baby with one arm to wave, passed the child carefully to her husband before they crossed the road to speak with reporters, described her feelings as “very emotional,” and added, “Any parent will know what that’s like.” |
| William, responding to a question, said, “He’s got her looks, thankfully.” Kate quickly demurred, “No, no, I’m not sure about that.” | William, responding to a question, said, “He’s got her looks, thankfully.” Kate quickly demurred, “No, no, I’m not sure about that.” |
| Swaddled in a white baby shawl, his fair hair and fingers visible, the infant was carried by his beaming parents on a brief walkabout down the serried lines of the waiting news media, before being taken back inside the hospital and buckled into a car seat. With Prince William driving, a royal security aide beside him, and Kate with the infant in the back seat, they then set off in a black Range Rover for the baby’s first night in a royal palace. | Swaddled in a white baby shawl, his fair hair and fingers visible, the infant was carried by his beaming parents on a brief walkabout down the serried lines of the waiting news media, before being taken back inside the hospital and buckled into a car seat. With Prince William driving, a royal security aide beside him, and Kate with the infant in the back seat, they then set off in a black Range Rover for the baby’s first night in a royal palace. |
| Their destination was Kensington Palace, a short drive away across Hyde Park, which is to be the royal couple’s London home. It was also the home in which William and his brother, Prince Harry, spent much of their childhood, and where they were living when their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, by then divorced from Prince Charles, was killed in a Paris car crash in August 1997. | Their destination was Kensington Palace, a short drive away across Hyde Park, which is to be the royal couple’s London home. It was also the home in which William and his brother, Prince Harry, spent much of their childhood, and where they were living when their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, by then divorced from Prince Charles, was killed in a Paris car crash in August 1997. |
| Members of the royal family, when discussing the duchess’s pregnancy in recent months, have carefully avoided any mention of Diana, who was regarded as a virtual pariah by the royal court at the time of her death, after her acrimonious divorce from Prince Charles and their mutual acknowledgments of infidelity during their marriage. | Members of the royal family, when discussing the duchess’s pregnancy in recent months, have carefully avoided any mention of Diana, who was regarded as a virtual pariah by the royal court at the time of her death, after her acrimonious divorce from Prince Charles and their mutual acknowledgments of infidelity during their marriage. |
| Some British commentators have described her as the phantom of the occasion. But Kate wore Diana’s blue sapphire engagement ring as she appeared for the first time with her baby, which conveyed its own message. So did the BBC’s use, during the vigil outside the hospital wing, of archive photographs of Diana and Prince Charles emerging from the Lindo wing with William, their firstborn, after his birth in June 1982. | Some British commentators have described her as the phantom of the occasion. But Kate wore Diana’s blue sapphire engagement ring as she appeared for the first time with her baby, which conveyed its own message. So did the BBC’s use, during the vigil outside the hospital wing, of archive photographs of Diana and Prince Charles emerging from the Lindo wing with William, their firstborn, after his birth in June 1982. |
| It has been common royal practice — as it was with the infant William – for the parents to wait days, even weeks, to announce a name. Although royal officials have insisted that the choice will rest entirely with William and Kate, the newborn’s status as an heir to the throne adds a special dimension to the task, and the widespread expectation is that they will settle on a name with a resonance in royal tradition. | It has been common royal practice — as it was with the infant William – for the parents to wait days, even weeks, to announce a name. Although royal officials have insisted that the choice will rest entirely with William and Kate, the newborn’s status as an heir to the throne adds a special dimension to the task, and the widespread expectation is that they will settle on a name with a resonance in royal tradition. |
| In Britain’s betting shops, which have been doing a brisk trade on the issue almost since Kate’s pregnancy was announced, the strong favorites for a baby boy have been George, James, Philip, Henry and Edward, all names taken by British kings in the 1,000-year history of the monarchy. | In Britain’s betting shops, which have been doing a brisk trade on the issue almost since Kate’s pregnancy was announced, the strong favorites for a baby boy have been George, James, Philip, Henry and Edward, all names taken by British kings in the 1,000-year history of the monarchy. |
| Those betting on George have done so, in large measure, because of the strong affection that Queen Elizabeth II, great-grandmother of the new baby, has voiced for her father, King George VI, who died of lung cancer in 1952, while in his 50s. The name James has a strong resonance in Scotland, home of James, Britain’s first Stuart king, and some in the royal family may favor sending a message to Scots 14 months before they are scheduled to vote in an independence referendum. | Those betting on George have done so, in large measure, because of the strong affection that Queen Elizabeth II, great-grandmother of the new baby, has voiced for her father, King George VI, who died of lung cancer in 1952, while in his 50s. The name James has a strong resonance in Scotland, home of James, Britain’s first Stuart king, and some in the royal family may favor sending a message to Scots 14 months before they are scheduled to vote in an independence referendum. |
| Philip is the name of Queen’s Elizabeth’s 92-year-old husband, a fixture and frequent subject of controversy in British public life for more than 65 years, who is convalescing after a series of hospitalizations in the past 18 months for various medical problems. He is expected to join the queen this weekend when she leaves London for her annual summer vacation at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and there has been speculation that William and Kate will want to announce the baby’s name by then. | Philip is the name of Queen’s Elizabeth’s 92-year-old husband, a fixture and frequent subject of controversy in British public life for more than 65 years, who is convalescing after a series of hospitalizations in the past 18 months for various medical problems. He is expected to join the queen this weekend when she leaves London for her annual summer vacation at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and there has been speculation that William and Kate will want to announce the baby’s name by then. |
| The ease of manner displayed by William and Kate during their brief appearance outside the hospital – both smiling, Kate perhaps even more broadly than William, and both answering reporters’ questions in the confident and amiable manner of a couple accustomed to the demands of celebrity – made for a striking contrast with the common practice among royals on similar occasions in recent decades. | The ease of manner displayed by William and Kate during their brief appearance outside the hospital – both smiling, Kate perhaps even more broadly than William, and both answering reporters’ questions in the confident and amiable manner of a couple accustomed to the demands of celebrity – made for a striking contrast with the common practice among royals on similar occasions in recent decades. |
| Until recent times, the very notion of an impromptu sidewalk news conference by senior members of the royal family, much less a couple destined eventually to be king and queen, would have caused conniptions among royal aides. | Until recent times, the very notion of an impromptu sidewalk news conference by senior members of the royal family, much less a couple destined eventually to be king and queen, would have caused conniptions among royal aides. |
| But on Tuesday evening, the informality was pervasive. When a reporter asked if the couple had experienced their first baby diaper change, Kate replied cheerfully, nodding at William, “He’s done that already.” At another point, speaking of the infant’s hair, the prematurely balding William laughed and replied, “He’s got more hair than me.” | But on Tuesday evening, the informality was pervasive. When a reporter asked if the couple had experienced their first baby diaper change, Kate replied cheerfully, nodding at William, “He’s done that already.” At another point, speaking of the infant’s hair, the prematurely balding William laughed and replied, “He’s got more hair than me.” |
| William also deftly apologized for the long wait endured by reporters and photographers, some of whom staked out their positions, and their ladders, more than two weeks ago, camping every night in pup tents on the sidewalk. The encampment was repeated on Monday night, after the royal birth was announced, and it was nearing dusk on Tuesday when royal aides finally announced that the royal couple would appear imminently with the baby. | William also deftly apologized for the long wait endured by reporters and photographers, some of whom staked out their positions, and their ladders, more than two weeks ago, camping every night in pup tents on the sidewalk. The encampment was repeated on Monday night, after the royal birth was announced, and it was nearing dusk on Tuesday when royal aides finally announced that the royal couple would appear imminently with the baby. |
| Jocularly, William blamed the long wait on the baby having arrived past his due date, which palace officials had said months ago was in mid-July. | Jocularly, William blamed the long wait on the baby having arrived past his due date, which palace officials had said months ago was in mid-July. |
| “I’ll remind him of his tardiness when he’s older because I know how long you’ve been standing out here,” he said. “Hopefully, the hospital and you guys can all go back to normal now, and we can go and look after him.” | “I’ll remind him of his tardiness when he’s older because I know how long you’ve been standing out here,” he said. “Hopefully, the hospital and you guys can all go back to normal now, and we can go and look after him.” |
Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York. | Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York. |