Newborn son means ‘thrice the worry’ for William, Kate
LONDON (Reuters) — Kate, wife of Prince William, smiled and waved as she left St. Mary’s Hospital on Monday after giving birth to a boy who is now fifth in line to the British throne.
The baby was born at 1001 GMT and weighed 8 lbs 7 oz (3.8 kg). William was present for the birth at the west London hospital where their other two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, were also born.
Kate, wearing a red dress, smiled at hundreds of wellwishers and assembled journalists as she left the hospital clutching her baby just seven hours after the birth. William later put the boy, strapped into a car seat, into a waiting car.
“Thrice the worry now,” William told reporters, holding up three fingers with a smile, as he got into a Land Rover to take his wife and newborn back to Kensington Palace.
“We didn’t keep you waiting too long this time,” a “very happy, very excited” William said, as he thanked the journalists.
Asked about a name for the boy, William replied, “You’ll find out sooner or later.”
Bookmakers have made Albert, Arthur, Jack and Fred the favored names for a boy.
Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, the baby’s grandfather, and other members of the royal family and Kate’s family have been informed and “are delighted with the news,” according to Kensington Palace.
When William brought his children to see their brother, Charlotte turned and waved at the gathering of well-wishers. George did not wave.
The baby is the queen’s sixth great-grandchild and is behind his grandfather and heir Prince Charles, father William, and siblings George and Charlotte in line to the throne.
A 2013 change to the law means that for the first time in British history, a new prince will not supplant his older sister in the order of succession.
Previously younger males would take precedence over older female siblings.
William’s younger brother Harry, who marries American actress Meghan Markle next month, falls to sixth on the list.