The Royal Baby has arrived! The Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to a son and future king

 
THE Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a boy weighing 8lb and 6oz at 4.24pm today, Kensington Palace has confirmed.
 

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were delighted with the
news.
Prince William was by his wife's side as she delivered their first child at St Mary's Hospital in London.

The child will be third in line to the throne, after Prince Charles and its father Prince William, and will become a future king.

The palace said in a statement: "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm. The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz.

"The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth.

"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.

"Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well and will remain in hospital overnight."

Soon after the news of the delivery emerged, which was announced by a town vrier outside St Mary's, a notice giving details about the baby left the hospital for Buckingham Palace.

The notice was signed by the Queen's former gynaecologist Marcus Setchell, who led the medical team that delivered Kate's baby.

It will be placed on an easel in the palace's forecourt just like the announcement of William's birth on June 21 1982.

Prince Charles said he was "enormously proud and happy to be a grandfather for the first time", adding that it was "an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine".

He added: "Grandparenthood is a unique moment in anyone's life, as countless kind people have told me in recent months, so I am enormously proud and happy to be a grandfather for the first time and we are eagerly looking forward to seeing the baby in the near future."

Prime Minister David Cameron spoke outside 10 Downing Street to congratulate Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge for giving birth to their first child.
The Conservative leader said: "It is wonderful news from St Mary's, Paddington and I am sure that right across the country, and indeed right across the Commonwealth, people will be celebrating and wishing the royal couple well.

"It is an important moment in the life of our nation but, I suppose, above all it is a wonderful moment for a warm and loving couple who have got a brand new baby boy."
Earlier in the day thousands of of well wishers had gathered outside Buckingham Palace this afternoon where the Queen arrived home to await news of the Duchess' birth.

The Monarch, who recently confessed that she wanted the baby to hurry up so that she could go on holiday at the end of the week, left Windsor Castle to return to her London residence where she patiently waited with the rest of the world for the Duchess to give birth.

It was reported that hundreds of people ran towards the 87-year-old's car screaming 'the Queen!' as she made her way into the Palace.

Once the little Prince arrived, a royal aide left the main entrance of the Lindo wing at St Mary's hospital, Paddington with a medical bulletin signed by the Duchess's doctors at birth.

The announcement was taken to the palace by car accompanied by police and will be placed on a wooden frame on an easel behind the railings on Buckingham Palace.

It is expected that the bulletin will confirm the sex and weight of the baby but no other details. Once the announcement is posted on the easel, Kensington Palace spokespeople will confirm the details to press via an email.

The monarch left Windsor Castle for her London residence upon hearing that Kate was in labour GETTY

The Queen's car was apparently mobbed by well wishers

The Duchess travelled by car to the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital with The Duke of Cambridge early this morning as she prepares to give birth to the country's future king or queen.
Kate, who is thought to be about a week overdue, was admitted to the hospital at around 5am via a back door, according to photographers who spotted her.
Kate and William, who spent the weekend at Kensington Palace, travelled without a police escort, their spokesman said.
He added: "Things are progressing as normal."
The expectant mother is being tended by a top medical team led by the Queen's former gynaecologist Marcus Setchell, who delivered the Countess of Wessex's two children.

Assisting him is Alan Farthing, the former fiance of murdered TV presenter Jill Dando and the Queen's current gynaecologist.

Prince William and Kate Duchess of Cambridge have both arrived at hospital

 
Kate and William will present their baby to the world just like Charles and Diana did back in 1982

The world's press have been camped outside St Mary's in Paddington for days in anticipation of the birth.
Now, the news that what had been dubbed by bored journalists 'the Great Kate Wait' was finally over was announced in a brief statement from Kensington Palace at 7.30am after rumours she had been spotted began circulating.
The statement read: "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted this morning to St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, in the early stages of labour.

"The Duchess travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital with The Duke of Cambridge."

The Duchess made her last solo public appearance on June 13 (WENN)

The Duke is said to want a daughter, while the Duchess is keen for a little boy (WENN)

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted this morning to St Mary's Hospital

The hospital's Lindo wing is a private obstetric unit, where the Duke and his younger brother Prince Harry were born and the Prince and Princess of Wales famously posed on the building's steps in 1982 holding baby William in turn.
Prices at the exclusive wing start at just under £5,000 for a normal delivery package over 24 hours, with consultants' fees around £6,000 extra depending on the care required.

Prices increase if the delivery is a difficult one or the mother has a caesarean section.
Aides will not say if the Duchess is being induced, but Kate is intending to have a natural birth and does not know whether she is going to have a boy or girl.

The media has gathered in eager anticipation as the nation awaits news of a new royal baby

Clocks showing New York and London time which were placed by the media outside the hospital

Her admittance today has followed the same pattern as that of Princess Diana, who later claimed she had been induced when she had Prince William - to fit in with Prince Charles's polo schedule. Diana was admitted at 5am and gave birth at around 9.25pm on June 21, 1982.
In taped conversations passed to her biographer Andrew Morton via an intermediary, Diana told how the pressure from the media and public forced her into being induced.
“William had to be induced because I couldn’t handle the press any longer; it was becoming unbearable,” she said. “It was as if everybody was monitoring every day for me.
“Anyway, we went in very early. I was sick as a parrot the whole way through the labour, very bad labour. They wanted a Caesarean, no-one told me this until afterwards. Anyway, the boy arrived, great excitement.”

Royal fans have been camped outside the hospital for days

Betting on the name of the royal baby, which will be third-in-line to the throne, has produced one favourite with a number of bookies - Alexandra.

Many punters believe William and Kate will have a girl and have put their money on the name.

Other monikers that have attracted royal fans include Charlotte, Diana, Elizabeth and Victoria, with George and James picked by those who think the new baby will be a boy.

One of the Royal families biggest fans Terry Hutt, 79, from Cambridge, outside the hospital

Expectant father William will take paternity leave from his job as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot.

But it is not known how long the Duchess will take off from her royal duties to care for her first child.

The new royal baby will be the Queen's third great-grandchild and is destined to be crowned monarch.

It will be the 43rd sovereign since William the Conqueror if, as expected, it follows reigns by Charles then William.

The Duke is known to want a daughter while the Duchess is hoping for a son.

When Kate met Guardsman Lee Wheeler, 29, during a a St Patrick's Day parade in Aldershot, Hampshire, she told him she did not know the sex of her baby.

The soldier said: "I asked her 'Do you know if it's a girl or boy?', and she said 'Not yet'.

"She said 'I'd like to have a boy and William would like a girl'. That's always the way."

Recent changes to the rules of succession mean if a girl is born she will not be leapfrogged by a younger brother at a later date.

The sex of an infant in direct line to the throne no longer determines whether he or she wears the crown.

[express]