IT’S A BOY... WILLIAM AND KATE SAY THEY’ RE ‘THRILLED’ AS PIPPA GIVES BIRTH TO A SON
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan given first baby gifts on Oz trip
PIPPA Middleton was officially congratulated by a “thrilled” Duke and Duchess of Cambridge yesterday after she gave birth to a baby boy.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s sister delivered her first child with husband James Matthews at the private maternity wing of St Mary’s hospital in London on Monday afternoon.
The baby weighed 8lb 9oz and both he and his mum are said to be “doing well”.
The 35-year-old gave birth just hours after Kensington Palace’s announcement that Meghan Markle is pregnant with her first child with Harry, which was made on Monday as the Royal couple arrived in Australia for a 16-day tour. Kate and William were the first to publicly congratulate the new parents, who also attended Princess Eugenie’s wedding last Friday.
Kensington Palace said: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are thrilled for Pippa and James.”
The happy news comes as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were left overjoyed to receive the first toys for their unborn baby during the opening day of their tour in Sydney.
The parents-to-be, who will welcome their first baby next spring, received a soft kangaroo and joey from Australia’s governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove and his wife, Lady Cosgrove.
When presented with the gifts, a delighted Meghan replied: “Our first baby gift!”, while Harry was handed a pair of Ugg boots, which he described as “awesome”.
The Royal couple, who will also take in New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga on their first official trip outside the UK and Ireland as a married couple, received many well-wishes from flag-bearing representatives who will be competing at the Invictus Games in Sydney.
Another special well-wisher was 98-year-old war widow Daphne Dunne, whom Harry first met when he presented her with a Victoria Cross which was posthumously awarded to her husband, Lieutenant Albert Chowne who died while serving in 1945.
Mrs Dunne congratulated both the Duke and Duchess on their baby news, with Meghan telling her that next time they are in Australia they “might have our little one with us”.
The couple will today travel to New South Wales to celebrate 90 years of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Meanwhile, congratulations are expected to continue to flood in for Pippa, whose baby boy will be the cousin of the Duchess of Cambridge’s children, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte.
His name has not yet been confirmed.