We've all been on tenterhooks, but the royal waters have broken and the third heir to the throne is on its way!
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Here's the official notice sent to the press by Kensington Palace:
22nd July 2013
THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE HAS BEEN ADMITTED TO ST MARY'S HOSPITAL IN THE EARLY STAGES OF LABOUR
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.
For a first baby, the average time of the first stage of labour is 12 to 14 hours. It's now been two hours since the palace announced she was in labour, so we might have a bit of time on our hands. While we're waiting for this highly anticipated arrival, we'll take a look at Will's and Kate's relationship, the history of royal births, the media reactions around the world, official updates and more. Stay posted.
A bit of trivia to kick off the festivities: Princess Di was in labour for 16 hours with William... she also gave birth to him in the Lindo Wing of St Mary's where Kate is now. Check out the pics of royal bubs of old.
The Twittersphere has unsurprisingly been a hive of activity in the past month with #royalbaby fever attracting nearly 11,800 Tweets last Friday alone. That was up from 9,700 the day before and almost double the Tweets of the following day. The reason? This very cheeky post from the fake Queen:
It's a girl! Just kidding. Still no news. It's a bit bloody late, to be honest. #RoyalBaby — Elizabeth Windsor (@Queen_UK) July 19, 2013
Punters in the UK have put more than one million pounds on the table, betting on name, sex, weight and the date of birth.
Punters in Oz have been getting in on the act too.
Sportingbet Australia has just sent us a release saying its royal baby betting markets are suspended now that Kate has been admitted to St Mary's hospital in London.
Here's what Aussie punters have been betting on:
Odds are on for a girl ($1.40) over a boy ($2.75).
Like British betters, we've chosen Alexandra as a clear winner - at $2.50 it is the favourite to be the name of the royal baby.
Elizabeth and Charlotte were equal second favourites ahead of Diana, Victoria, Alice and Mary.
George was the favourite boy name ahead of Phillip.
Latest odds
Name of William and Kate's first baby
- Alexandra $2.50
- Elizabeth $6.50
- Charlotte $6.50
- Diana $7.00
- Victoria $11.00
- Alice $13.00
- Mary $15.00
- George $17.00
- Frances $17.00
- Grace $17.00
- Anne $21.00
- Catherine/Kate $21.00
- Philip $21.00
- Sophia $21.00
A boy or a girl?
Girl $1.40
Boy $2.75
Who will be holding the baby when leaving hospital?
Kate $1.70
William $2.15
Hair colour of Royal baby?
Brown $2.50
Blonde $3.00
Black $4.50
Ginger $5.00
We've all been on tenterhooks, but the royal waters have broken and the third heir to the throne is on its way!
Here's the official notice sent to the press by Kensington Palace:
22nd July 2013
THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE HAS BEEN ADMITTED TO ST MARY'S HOSPITAL IN THE EARLY STAGES OF LABOUR
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.
Since 3pm today there have been 14,201 #royalbaby Tweets. I think it's fair to say that the world has a serious case of baby brain. Insanity!
For all accusations of stuffiness, the palace is keen to prove how contemporary they are. Heck, even they have a Twitter account.
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London in the early stages of labour. — Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) July 22, 2013
More from Clarence House... they might be contemporary, with Twitter and all, but a little more chutzpah with their Twitter writing certainly wouldn't go astray...
The Duchess travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital with The Duke of Cambridge. — Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) July 22, 2013
With Tweets from around the world coming in thick and fast, let's take a look at some of the reactions...
The Daily Express is already managing to make an exciting day utterly depressing:
Kensington Palace could feel like a prison to the newest #RoyalBaby http://t.co/c5frx4WXO3 — Daily_Express (@Daily_Express) July 22, 2013
"The tiny tot [will be] endlessly photographable, perpetually newsworthy, never off the cover of some magazine, somewhere in the world," the linked article says. "It will make them sooner or later the object of unwelcome scrutiny on a scale that will challenge the adoring fascination in which they will be lovingly embraced at birth."
US Weekly is getting all crazy on us with this controversial Tweet:
#royalbaby update: A source tell Us Kate Middleton went into labor naturally. — Us Weekly (@usweekly) July 22, 2013
Did the royal family know the baby was coming today? This Tweet from BBC royal Correspondent, Peter Hunt:
The Queen is at Windsor and has no public engagements today. #RoyalBaby — Peter Hunt (@BBCPeterHunt) July 22, 2013
Maybe the Queen knew and Charles didn't! He's apparently in York today, which is nearly four hours from London...
Prince Charles -- poised to become a grandad for the first time -- is in York today. #RoyalBaby — Peter Hunt (@BBCPeterHunt) July 22, 2013
We've all heard the saying 'a face only a mother can love'. We're pretty sure, given that mum and dad are a bit gorgeous, bub isn't going to struggle in the looks department. Check out the blossoming romance of the beautiful couple.
The world is waking up and now there are more than 30,000 #royalbaby Tweets. That hash tag is an insatiable beast.
Like puppies patiently waiting by the door, so the media and public wait Nick Miller tells us, excited and expectant looking intently at a closed door.
Given the media has been on a stakeout of the hospital for nearly a month, the pressure and competition to get pictures is fierce. Looks like the royals are coming up trumps so far and this is the best the media has managed:
Apparently the photographs being offered of Kate arriving at the private Lindo Wing show two cars but not the duchess going in. #RoyalBaby — Peter Hunt (@BBCPeterHunt) July 22, 2013
Sydney Morning Herald's The Diary editor and avid royal watcher, Daisy Dumas gives the low-down on what we know so far and what to expect.
Our London correspondent, Nick Miller talks us through who Kate's medical team is and explains what on earth the 'Kate Effect' is.
Here's a shot, capturing a small sea of onlookers and media outside St Mary's, by Nick Miller.
He tells us that the waiting media contingent are keeping busy. The inside word is that the BBC correspondent is very funny - "he has already made the point several times that he has no news but they keep crossing back to him".
Miller also says that desperate times are calling for desperate measures. "Some of the media are interviewing each other, some are interviewing the diehard royalists who have been patiently waiting here more than a week and have probably been interviewed about 100 times each over that period."
