The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Proud parents give the world first sight of their little prince
THE DUKE and Duchess of Cambridge showed their new son to the world last night as they described becoming parents as “such a special time”.
On the steps of the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in London the royal couple posed for the press and waved and smiled at the cheering well-wishers.
William and Kate gave an impromptu and good-humoured press conference, telling reporters about how their lives had changed.
Asked how she felt, the duchess said: “It’s very emotional and such a special time and I think any parent will probably know what this feeling feels like.”
Joking about his son, William added: “Well, he’s got a good pair of lungs on him, that’s for sure. “He’s a big boy, he’s quite heavy.” They said they have yet to name their son, with the duke adding it was now a priority: “We’re still working on a name so we will have that as soon as we can,” he said.
Joking again, William said: “He’s got her looks, thankfully,” while Kate replied: “No, no, I’m not sure about that.”
The duke looked very relaxed holding his son and after speaking to the press for a few minutes returned inside the Lindo Wing with his wife.
The couple soon emerged with their son in a baby seat andWilliam carefully fitted it on to the back seat of a Range Rover beside his wife before driving home.
A crowd waiting to greet the couple and their baby when they arrived at Kensington Palace cheered as the duke drove past and smiled from behind the wheel, while his wife waved.
The Queen said she was “thrilled” at the arrival of her first great-grandson.
In the hours before they left hospital William and Kate had received visits from their son’s beaming grandparents — Michael and Carole Middleton and the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
Charles’s visit to the hospital was a historic moment as it is believed to be the first time three male heirs to the throne have come together in more than 100 years.
The names of royal babies are historically not announced straight away, leaving the nation playing a guessing game until the chosen moniker is finally revealed.
When William arrived in 1982, his parents the Prince and Princess of Wales waited seven days before deciding upon and announcing his forenames.
Diana was thought to have preferred names such as Sebastian and Oliver, while Charles was reportedly holding out for Albert.
When the names were finally revealed as William Arthur Philip Louis it ended a week of intense speculation.
The Prince of Wales’s name, however, remained a mystery to the wider world for an entire month and was only declared ahead of his christening in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace in December 1948.