The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Right royal welcome for Prince of Cambridge
THE PRINCE of Wales saw his grandson for the first time yesterday when he visited the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in hospital.
The proud grandfather and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall travelled from East Yorkshire, where they had carried out a string of engagements, to see the baby and his parents William and Kate.
A few minutes before the royals arrived, staff from the hospital were allowed to gather around the entrance to the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s hospital in London to get a better glimpse of Charles and Camilla.
As the royal couple stepped from their chauffeur-driven limousine, the prince joked with the press, asking: “Have you had a long wait?”
Charles’s first grandchild, who has yet to be publicly named, is third in line to the throne and will one day be king.
The prince gave his reaction to the birth while in East Yorkshire, saying he was “thrilled and very excited” about the new baby.
Charles’s visit followed the other new grandparents, Michael and Carole Middleton, who spent just over an hour with their daughter Kate and son-in-law William at the Lindo Wing.
Mrs Middleton described her grandson as “absolutely beautiful” as she left the hospital and, speaking about mother and baby, said: “They are both doing really well, and we are so thrilled.”
When questioned by the world’s media, camped outside the Lindo Wing, about how the proud parents were doing, she replied: “Fabulously.”
Asked what the first cuddle with her grandson was like, Mrs Middleton, who had been ushered forward by her husband to speak to the press, said: “Amazing. It’s all coming back.”
But when asked if she had suggested a name for the baby, she said: “Absolutely not, but thank you.”
The Queen is “thrilled” at the arrival of her first great-grandson, she told a guest at a Buckingham Palace reception. Louise Butt said the monarch told her the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s son, born on Monday, was a “big boy” and that “the firstborn is very special”.
The Queen made the remark during an event for representatives of companies who have been given the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
Mrs Butt, of Bath-based science marketing firm Select Science, said: “She (the Queen) said she is thrilled and she said he is a big boy. She said the first-born is very special. We agreed.”
It was business as usual for the Queen and other senior royals, hosting the reception for 350 people as her third great-grandchild left hospital with his parents.
The Duke of York, his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex joined the monarch for the event celebrating UK firms.
Business secretary Vince Cable and universities and science minister David Willetts were also among the guests at the event celebrating British firms.
Mr Cable said he had congratulated the Queen on the arrival of her great-grandson, but that she had not dropped any hints about his name during their brief conversation.
“I’m pleasantly surprised she was here but she obviously puts her duties at the forefront of what she does. She didn’t give any confidential leaks,” he said.
The new royal baby — the first Prince of Cambridge to be born for more than 190 years — was delivered on Monday at 4.24pm, weighing 8lb 6oz.
The duke and duchess have thanked the hospital staff who delivered their baby, describing the care they and their son received as “tremendous”.
The royal couple said in a statement: “We would like to thank the staff at the Lindo Wing and the whole hospital for the tremendous care the three of us have received.
“We know it has been a very busy period for the hospital and we would like to thank everyone for their understanding during this time.”