Members of the media gather outside of St. Mary’s Hospital. (Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth II returns to Buckingham Palace today. (AFP/Getty Images)
A member of medical staff walks by as police stand guard at the doors of the hospital’s Lindo Wing, where Kate is expected to give birth. (Getty Images)
William and Kate wed in 2011. (AFP/Getty Images)
Members of the public snap photos outside of St. Mary’s Hospital. (Getty Images)
Prince Charles and Princess Diana were photographed outside of St. Mary’s Hospital with their newborn son William in 1982. (AP)
Prince William’s wife, Kate, is in labor in a central London hospital, Kensington Palace officials said today.
It is a historic moment for the British monarchy — the couple’s first child will become third in line for the British throne, after Prince Charles and William, and should eventually become king or queen.
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William and Kate entered St. Mary’s Hospital in central London through a side door early Monday morning, avoiding assembled media members. Palace officials confirmed her arrival about 90 minutes later.
Kate — also known as the Duchess of Cambridge — traveled by car to St. Mary’s Hospital in central London with Prince William. She’s expected to give birth in the Lindo Wing, a private section of the hospital where Princess Diana gave birth to William and his younger brother, Prince Harry.
Royal staff have been sending extra supplies to the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge is in labour as the world awaits a new heir to the throne, Sky News reported.
Sky News’ Royal Correspondent Paul Harrison said it was believed a number of “bits and bobs” had been brought to the Duchess by staff via side entrances at around lunchtime.
It also appears officials staged a “dummy run” in preparation for her arrival amid reports of police activity at the hospital last night.
He added that “Things are progressing as normal.”
The Sun reported that the fountains in London’s Trafalgar Square are going to be lit up pink or blue depending on the Royal baby’s sex.
She will be looked after by a top-notch medical team led by royal gynecologist Dr. Marcus Setchell.
Press crews have been camped outside the hospital for days in anticipation of the birth.
The Prince of Wales today joked he was: “very grateful indeed for the perfectly kind wishes about my rather slowly-approaching grandfatherhood”.
During a visit to West Yorkshire Charles said: “Some of you may have realized that with grandfatherhood comes, in four months’ time, old age pensionerhood.”
The baby will be third in line for the British throne, and should eventually succeed grandfather Charles and father William as king or queen of Britain and 15 other countries including Canada and Australia.
But little else is known about the eagerly awaited royal baby, from how it will arrive to its gender or its name.
It is not clear if Kate will have a natural birth or deliver by a planned cesarean section.
Following a time-honored royal tradition, the world will first read about the birth from a small bulletin posted in front of Buckingham Palace.
Protocol requires that the queen be informed about the birth before the general public is told.
It was the exact way officials announced the birth of Prince Charles in 1948 and Prince William in 1982, though this time around the monarchy has moved with the times and added social media as an easier way to reach more people.
According to officials, the process will go something like this:
— Once the baby is born, doctors will sign a foolscap-size document, with the palace letterhead, giving the baby’s gender and time of birth. It will be terse and formal — the language is dictated by protocol — and will read something like “The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a prince / princess.” It may also provide the infant’s weight. Foolscap is a traditional British paper size — rarely used nowadays — that is taller but slightly narrower than either A4 or US letter size.
— A royal aide will give this bulletin to an official, whose task is to carry the news from the hospital to the palace. It’s going to be a suspenseful short journey, about 15 minutes, and the drive will almost certainly be broadcast live to millions of television viewers worldwide.
— Once at the palace, the official will post the bulletin on a wooden easel placed in the frontcourt for the public to see.
— At the same time, the monarchy’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts will announce the news online.
The method of announcement has survived remarkably intact throughout the years, with only a few minor points of difference — for example, the bulletin used to be posted on the black railings outside the palace, not on an easel.
The biggest difference, of course, is the presence of online social media for the first time in the history of royal births. Twitter and Facebook have replaced cables and radio announcements, which mean that the new royal baby will be the first to own a hashtag — and the first to receive thousands of instant blessings and well wishes from around the world.
It could be some time before the baby’s name is made public. When William was born, a week passed before his name was announced. Charles’s name remained a mystery for an entire month.
But it is the baby’s gender that is of particular interest because the prospect of Kate’s pregnancy prompted a change to laws of succession to ensure a daughter would not be passed over for the crown by a younger brother. Boy or girl, the child will be third in line to the throne and the prospective future monarch.
The birth of a new heir to the throne has been breathlessly anticipated since William and Kate wed on April 29, 2011, in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
When news of a royal pregnancy was announced, there was rejoicing in many households in Britain and throughout the world.
Despite a rough start to the pregnancy, when she was hospitalized for acute morning sickness, the 31-year-old Kate made a number of public appearances that were halted only near the end of her term.
Since the duchess has cut back on her royal duties, media outlets have been clamoring for position outside of the hospital in anticipation of the birth, jockeying to secure the best vantage point for filming William and Kate emerging, babe in arms.
Officials have said that William plans to take two weeks’ paternity leave and then return to his military duties as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot in Wales.
His tour of duty is scheduled to wrap up around September, and he and Kate are expected to move from their isolated cottage on the island of Anglesey off the coast of Wales to Kensington Palace in central London.
But major refurbishment works at the palace likely won’t be finished until at least a month or two after the infant is born — meaning that William and Kate will most likely have to make do with their current temporary home in London, a two-bedroom property at the palace.
Come autumn, however, the family will be able to move into their permanent London home, Apartment 1a at Kensington Palace — a four-story house with a nursery, 20 rooms and a private garden.
With AP and The Sun