Birth of a thoroughly modern princess...
HER birth was announced on social media and re-tweeted around the world in seconds.
She instantly demoted her uncle Harry and great-uncle Andrew in the Windsor “Firm” and will keep her place as fourth in line to the throne even if another prince comes along.
And while big brother George will be groomed as a future king, the new Princess of Cambridge will be free to forge her own career and bring girl power back into the royal palaces. For Kate and William’s baby daughter is the first truly modern princess – a 21st century girl.
She’s the high-ranking female royal who can “restore the gender balance” of the Royal Family in the way her late grandmother Diana would have relished.
It is 65 years since a girl was born so high up the line of succession, when Princess Anne arrived third in line as the Queen’s second child. But 10 years later feisty Anne was leapfrogged in royal ranks by the arrival of her baby brother, Prince Andrew.
No such humiliation awaits the Cambridges’ daughter, thanks to The Succession of the Crown Act, which came into force in March, scrapping male precedence. She has also been born a princess, rather than a lady, because the Queen changed the rules on royal titles, ensuring William’s offspring would all be HRHs.
But these constitutional considerations will be a million miles from the minds of Kate, 33, and William, 32, as they gaze at their beautiful day-old daughter today. Like any parents they just want to give her the happiest upbringing possible in a “normal family home”, not a constrained royal court.
Diana tried to do the same for Wills and Harry – but it’s Kate’s own middle-class childhood that will set the tone for the Modern Princess.
Anmer Hall, on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in Norolk, will be their main home. There, away from the hustle and bustle, Kate will try to give her children a rural upbringing just like she had.
The duchess already takes George to the park, the farm, swimming lessons and the local playgroups in Anmer and will be keen to do the same with her daughter.
Michael and Carole Middleton are also doting, hands- on grandparents and, according to one historian, will offer the youngsters the closest thing to an “ordinary life” that is possible.
The £ 4.7million Middleton mansion near Bucklebury, Berks, has always been a haven for Wills and Kate. It was where they headed within days of George being born. Royal writer Robert Lacey explained: “The thing about the Middletons is that they are thoroughly self-assured and selfcontained. They have a stable home and family life, and that clearly appeals to William.”
He added: “Even when he goes down to stay with his grandparents in the country, Prince George is surrounded by security.
“It’s difficult to say it’s an ordinary life but perhaps the Middletons offer the closest to ordinary life inside that stockade of security.”
While it’s unlikely the princess will ever attend a state school, some royal watchers think she may go to a more low-key public school than her brother. And like her uncle Harry, she will grow up with the unfortunate label of “spare to the heir” tag. But, as Harry has found, that can mean more freedom.
He has shifted down the line of succession to fifth place, but is more pleased than put out by the move. Wh e n it was suggested to him after Kate’s pregnancy was announced that this further reduced his chances of becoming king, he laughed and replied: “Great!” However, as fourth in line to the throne she will still be expected to take part in royal duties – and will need the Queen’s permission before she can marry. That’s something her second cousin Princess Beatrice no longer has to worry about. She’s been bumped down to seventh in line and only the top six need the Queen’s consent.
Whatever the Princess of Cambridge chooses as a career she is sure to make millions for UK PLC – following in her mum’s footsteps as a fashion icon.
Experts estimate she could raise around £150million for British businesses and designers every year of her life.
Brand expert Robert Haigh said: “This baby girl opens up a whole new demographic for the ‘Brand Windsor effect’.
“In the years to come her wardrobe will be carefully scrutinised, with the specific items she wears likely to sell out in days and the labels enjoying long-lasting uplifts in brand strength and sales.”
But many royal watchers hope she can be much more than a style setter.
Royal expert Dr Judith Rowbotham, of Plymouth University, insists it is women who change the face of the monarchy most radically. She said: “It’s nice to have the gender balance restored by this birth, there has been a dearth of young princesses.”