Kate gives birth to a baby boy

“Her Royal Highness The Duchess of
Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at
4:24pm (1524GMT),” said the statement.
“The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz. (3.8 kilos).”
The baby will be third in line to the throne
and in the direct line of succession after
head of state Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest
son and heir Prince Charles, and then his
eldest son William.
“The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz. The Duke of
Cambridge was present for the birth.”
The boy’s name was not revealed, but he
will be known as Prince of Cambridge.
The former Kate Middleton was admitted to
the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s
Hospital, Paddington, central London, at
around 6:00 am in the midst of a summer
thunderstorm.
The birth was later officially announced to
great cheers on a golden easel placed in the
forecourt of Buckingham Palace.
US President Barack Obama’s spokesman
had earlier said that he and the first family
were “waiting with anticipation” for the
birth and “wish the family and all of Great
Britain well on this pending momentous
occasion.”
William, at his wife’s bedside, has been on
annual leave and will take two weeks’
paternity leave from his military job as a
Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot.
Both mother and son were “doing well” and
will remain in hospital overnight while the
queen was “delighted with the news”,
according to the palace.
The birth came later than widely expected,
adding to the sense of anticipation that has
built up ever since William, whose mother
Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997, and
the former Kate Middleton married with
huge fanfare in April 2011.
Bookmakers had largely backed a girl baby,
after Kate had said they did not know its
sex.
The fact that it is a boy relieves the need to
rush through new succession laws across
the 16 Commonwealth realms, which would
mean that a girl could no longer be
overtaken by any future younger brothers.
The royal couple used a back entrance to
the hospital when they arrived at 6:00 am
(0500 GMT), missing the ranks of
international media who have camped
outside the hospital for three weeks.
The prince was born in the same hospital
wing and media from across the globe are
hoping for a repeat of the scene in 1982
when Charles and his first wife Diana
brought out the baby to show him off to
the world.
Royal fanatics gathering outside the hospital
also took their excitement to a new level.
“I’m so excited. Like in a washing machine.
Never been so high!” said John Loughrey,
who has slept outside the hospital for
seven nights, wrapped in a British flag.
The new arrival is Queen Elizabeth’s third
great-grandchild, and a first grandchild for
Charles.
It ensures that there are three generations
of heirs to the crown of the United Kingdom
of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland — a nuclear-armed UN Security
Council permanent member and the world’s
sixth biggest economy.
The queen was seen arriving back at
Buckingham Palace from Windsor Castle,
just outside the capital, in mid-afternoon
but other royals went about their usual
business.
Charles, the current heir, was visiting York
in northern England, where members of the
public shouted “Congratulations!”.
Smiling, he replied: “Do you know
something I don’t?”
Charles, who turns 65 in November, joked:
“I’m very grateful indeed for the kind
wishes for my rather slowly-approaching
grandfatherhood.”
Prime Minister David Cameron sent his best
wishes to the couple and the “whole
country is excited.”
The pregnancy was announced in December
when Kate was admitted to hospital with
severe morning sickness.
At the Lindo Wing, a standard room and
normal delivery — which Kate is hoping for
— costs £4,965 ($7,600, 5,800 euros) for
the first 24 hours, plus consultants’ fees
which can reach around £6,000.
The duchess is being tended by a top
medical team led by the queen’s
gynaecologist Alan Farthing and his
predecessor Marcus Setchell.
On the pavement opposite the hospital
entrance, around 30 presenters lined up in
a row delivering live broadcasts and clips,
with photographers and journalists filling
out the scene.
There has been a betting frenzy on the
name of the royal newborn with
bookmakers favouring a George and James
for the top boys’ names.