Will and Kate welcome their new prince
Couple’s third child fifth in line for throne
LONDON— Britain’s international image may have taken a beating over the past year, as the country proceeds with its stuttering exit from the European Union known as Brexit, but its unique asset was on full display Monday.
The royal family just keeps on delivering.
At 11:01 a.m., Kate, the duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to an 8-pound, 7-ounce boy, the third child for her and Prince William. William was present in the delivery room, and he later jumped in a sport utility vehicle and ferried his two younger children to the hospital to meet their newborn brother.
The news radiated out of the Lindo Ward and down South Wharf Road, where a cheerful, punchy crowd had swelled over the course of the day. A man dressed as a town crier, in knee breeches and a tricorn hat, appeared on the hospital steps, ringing a very large handbell.
“Oyez, oyez, oyez, we’ve got a royal baby, a prince!” he bellowed, and a small knot of royalists posted across the road, drinking sparkling wine out of plastic cups, responded in kind: “Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! It’s a boy, born on St. George’s Day!”
It was testament to the enduring fascination with Britain’s royal family, invigorated in recent months by the pregnancy of the duchess and by the coming wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, an American actress.
“What this does for us as a country, the monarchy, this will push us through Brexit,” said Darren French, who had come out of a hospital ward, wearing slippers and flapping cotton pajamas, to watch the spectacle. A black cab was slowly circling the block, with a wax figure of Queen Elizabeth II seated in the back.
“A lot of countries respect our monarchy,” French added. “It makes us look solid. It makes us look staunch.”
Representatives of betting houses had been out on the sidewalk since morning with chalkboards, updating the odds on possible names for the baby. (Arthur led the male names, with 2-1 odds, and Alice led the girls’ names, 5-1.)
The baby’s birth came a week before Kate and William’s seventh wedding anniversary and, perhaps more important in the eyes of the English news media and public, occurred on St. George’s Day, named after England’s patron saint.
The couple’s first child, George, was born on July 22, 2013, and their second, Charlotte, on May 2, 2015.
The new child will be fifth in line for the throne, following Prince Charles, William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and before Harry. Changes to the Succession to the Crown Act in 2013 removed male bias, meaning Charlotte is the first girl to go before her younger brother in the royal line of succession.
Kate gave birth in a familiar setting: the Lindo Wing is where Charlotte, George and several other members of the royal family were born. Its website notes, “Discretion is key to our service, and we will ensure that you have the space, security and privacy you need to enjoy these precious early moments as a family.”
Despite that promise, the street outside was mobbed with journalists, who were sorted by caste. The royal press corps, from major British outlets, had their own enclosure. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered congratulations on Twitter: “Canada welcomes a baby boy to the Royal Family! Sophie & I send our congratulations to William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and to George and Charlotte on the new arrival,” he wrote.