Get
ready for a 62-gun salute, watch the water in the fountains turn
blue, let the fireworks and street parties commence: The royal baby
has arrived, and it's a boy.
PrinceWilliam and Duchess Kate's first baby, a future monarch, was born
today at 4:24 pm local time in London's private wing of St. Mary'sHospital, the palace announced. The announcement said the baby
weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces, and William was present for the birth.
Mother
and baby were both doing well, the announcement added. The name was
not immediately announced. There's a chance it could be announced as
early as Tuesday, but it's also possible it may not be known for some
days.
The
news was supposed to be first announced in the traditional manner, on
fancy paper with a Buckingham Palace letterhead on a gilded easel at
the palace front gates. Instead, it went out by electronic press
release first, to the royal Twitter feed and websites, and then
proclaimed from every TV and computer screen in the country.
After
that, the framed announcement went up on the easel at the gates,
watched and cheered by a growing crowd despite what was being called
the hottest day in London in years.
But
the baby's great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, was the first to
get the news from her grandson, by encrypted phone to the palace, and
just in time, too. She's scheduled to leave on her annual vacation at
her Balmoral estate in Scotland at the end of this week.
The
palace announcement said the royal family, including the queen's
husband, Prince Philip, the baby's grandfather, Prince Charles the
Prince of Wales, his wife, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, and William's
brother, Prince Harry, and other family members have been notified
and are "delighted."
Prince
Charles issued a statement saying he and Camilla are "overjoyed"
and "thrilled" for the couple. "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," the first-in-line to the
throne said.
President
Obama and first lady Michelle Obama congratulated the
couple on "the joyous occasion" of the birth.
"We
wish them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings,"
the Obamas said in a written statement. "The child enters the
world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations. Given
the special relationship between us, the American people are pleased
to join with the people of the United Kingdom as they celebrate the
birth of the young prince."
In
a separate message posted on Twitter, Mrs. Obama said: "Being a
parent is the best job of all."
Speaking
of Twitter, the company announced late Monday that more than 2
million tweets about the royal baby were sent out starting when
Duchess Kate checked into the hospital early in the morning, reaching
a royal-baby buzz peak of about 25,300 tweets per minute.
There
was no word yet on whether Kate's mother and younger sister, Carole
and Pippa Middleton, 29, were at the hospital for the birth.
The
duchess was expected to spend at least one night overnight at the
hospital, but it's possible she and William and the baby will emerge
from the hospital as soon as today for the customary pose before the
media, after three weeks of waiting, outside the hospital.
The
birth of the royal baby was a model of the careful blend of
traditional and modern exemplified by this royal couple in the dozen
years they've been a couple. Plans call for a multi-gun salute near
Buckingham Palace, probably on Tuesday, blue water running in the
fountains, blue lights at the top of iconic buildings, fireworks and
street celebrations throughout the land.
The
baby arrives just short of 27 months since William and Kate were
married in a spectacular ceremony at Westminster Abbey on April 29,2011. The nine months of her pregnancy have been chronicled by the
British and world media with excruciating detail and growing
excitement about the first royal heir to be born in 31 years, since
William himself was born to Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
(In
fact, the last time the easel-and-note was used to announce a royal
birth was for William.)
The
baby moves immediately to third in line to the throne, behind fatherWilliam and grandfather Charles. The queen is 87 and celebrating her
61st year on the throne.
The
past few weeks saw rising royal-baby fever in Britain, with hopes
high that the birth would provide an estimated $360 million boost in
the flat British economy. Meanwhile, royal-baby doodads, such as Will
and Kate masks, poured into shops for use at the street parties soon
to break out all over the country.
The
baby arrived a little late , based on a mid-July due date. Unlike the
majority of births in Britain, no one, not even the parents, knew the
sex of the baby until the birth.
Source:
usatoday
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