The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
It’s a boy!
“Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm today. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.”
THE DUKE and Duchess of Cambridge said last night they “could not be happier” as they became the proud parents of a baby boy.
William was at Kate’s hospital bedside as she gave birth to a son weighing 8lbs 6oz at 4.24pm. Mother and baby were “both doing well”, said Kensington Palace.
The Duke was spending the night with his wife as they bonded with their new son at the Lindo wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London.
The Prince of Wales, who has become a grandfather for the first time, summed up the feelings of the Royal Family when he described the new arrival as an “incredibly special moment for William and Catherine”.
William telephoned his family to tell them the good news, speaking personally to the Queen, his father Charles and younger brother Prince Harry.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are delighted at the news.”
The Prince of Wales issued a brief statement saying: “Both my wife and I are overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild. It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy.
“We are eagerly looking forward to seeing the baby in the near future.”
Moments before Charles’s joyous words were released, the Queen’s press secretary AilsaAnderson strode out onto Buckingham Palace’s forecourt to place the official notice on its ornate stand.
The document had four signatures, first was that of Marcus Setchell, Surgeon Gynaecologist to Queen, who led the medical team that delivered Kate’s baby.
Mr Setchell spoke movingly about the baby, describing the Queen’s third greatgrandchild as a “wonderful baby, beautiful baby”.
Kensington Palace issued a very brief statement from the Duke who, speaking on behalf of himself and the Duchess, said: “We could not be happier.”
A spokesman said: “The names of the baby will be announced in due course.”
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, smiling Prime Minister David Cameron said: “It is an important moment in the life of our nation but, I suppose, above all it is a wonderful moment for a warm and loving couple who have got a brand new baby boy.”
Kate was first admitted to the Lindo Wing just before 6am yesterday with the Duchess in the early stages of labour.
PROUD GRANDFATHER the Prince of Wales described his joy last night at the birth of his first grandchild.
In a touching statement, Charles spoke of how the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s baby son was “an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine”.
The heir to the throne said he and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall were “overjoyed” at the baby’s arrival and “so thrilled” for William and Kate.
He reflected on the special status grandparents enjoy and said he was looking forward to meeting his new grandson soon.
The prince said: “Both my wife and I are overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild. It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy.
“Grandparenthood is a unique moment in anyone’s life, as countless kind people have told me in recent months, so I am enormously proud and happy to be a grandfather for the first time and we are eagerly looking forward to seeing the baby in the near future.”
Charles had already spoken of his delight at the prospect of a new addition to his family after Kate’s pregnancy was announced.
The heir to the throne said he was “thrilled” and even joked about how the latest development in his eventful life had come at the age of 64.
He said previously: “It’s a very nice thought to become a grandfather in my old age, if I can say so.”
Behind the trappings of state, the future king lives a life as normal as possible at his London home Clarence House and his country retreat Highgrove in Gloucestershire.
This was reflected in how he approached becoming a father and suggests he will bring the same attitude to becoming a grandfather.
The prince was involved with William’s childcare duties when he was a baby, changing his nappies, and he could name his son’s favourite bath toy — a rubber duck.
Charles mentioned the toy in response to a question asked on an Australian radio phone-in programme during a royal tour in 1983.
When members of the public questioned the heir to the throne and his wife Diana about William’s bath-time amusement, it was the Prince who came up with the answer first.
During Diana’s pregnancy he read books about childbirth and how to bring up a child, and he joined his wife at an antenatal class.
So Charles could expect William to bring over the grandchild and leave the infant in his capable hands.
The prince’s wife Camilla already has five grandchildren and so has plenty of experience of entertaining little ones.
The importance of the relationship between the grandparent and grandchild is something the heir to the throne knows well as he was very close to his grandmother, the Queen Mother, and “adored” her as a child.
When she died in 2002, Charles was devastated and movingly spoke about his loss: “She meant everything and I had dreaded, dreaded this moment. Somehow I never thought it would come. She seemed gloriously unstoppable.”
Becoming a grandfather is a role Charles harles is likely to take seriously.
Charles has been a strong advocate of taking action to protect the environment for many years and said recently: “I don’t want to be confronted by my future grandchild and (have) them say ‘Why didn’t you do something?’.”