THE GOOD LIFE: ALL CHANGE AS THE ROYALS NEST UP IN NORFOLK
WITH the arrival of a second child, most parents like to reminisce about how things have changed since they first became parents — and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be no different.
Royal baby number two will also be delivered at the private Lindo Wing at St Mary’s and despite complaints from viewers about wall-to-wall BBC coverage last time, there’s likely to be another press scrum outside.
Again, expect the debate over the name to find its way onto the lips of even staunch Republicans. Bookmaker PaddyPower currently has Alice as the strong 6-4 favourite, followed by Elizabeth (6-1), Charlotte (5-1), Victoria (9-1) and a 40-1 longshot for the Duchess to give the new arrival her own name, though the sex of the baby hasn’t been confirmed yet. Last weekend odds tumbled on Sam, linked to the couple’s close friend Grand National jockey Sam Waley-Cohen, whose name is usefully unisex.
But that’s where the similarity will end — and not only because this baby won’t be expected to “save the union,” as some said the last one was.
George was taken home to Kensington Palace, with the Duchess of Cambridge having to dodge both paparazzi and curious tourists with iPhones as she strolled in Kensington Gardens with the future King of England.
The new baby will go to Kensington Palace for two days before moving to Anmer Hall in Norfolk.
“Sloanes used to love the Home Counties,” says one informed local resident, “but privacy is now such a premium and so they love Norfolk for its total inaccessibility. Their greatest fear is a motorway from London to Norwich.” The important point is that they will be on private land beyond the lens of media.
Their local friends include Davina Duckworth Chad and her husband Tom Barber, who have sixyear-old twins, as does David Rocksavage, the Marquess of Cholmondeley who lives in Houghton Hall. William van Cutsem, brother of Hugh van Cutsem (godfather of Prince George), lives up there too — Anmer Hall is the former home of the van Cutsem family.
“It’s all about Holkham Beach,” says a regular summer visitor. The young HRHs might hitch a lift to Blakeney National Reserve with Tom Coke, Viscount Coke of Holkham, who keeps a crabbing boat at Burnham Overy Staithe.
Who will entertain the new baby when the couple want rid of him/ her for a few hours? And what about the delicate decision about godparents?
There were some suggestions that sister Pippa might be on the list this time but insiders reckon that a more likely choice will be William’s old friends Fergus Boyd or Kate’s school friend Emilia d’Erlanger — hotly tipped last time. Guy Pelly, who owns racy nightclub Tonteria, was ruled out last time on the grounds that he was involved in a drink-driving case but after resolving that (he was fined and banned for 2.5 years) and settling down himself with Holiday Inn heiress Elizabeth Wilson, he might yet have a chance.