Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to a baby boy that weighed 8lb 6oz at 4.24pm in St Mary's Hospital, London yesterday. File photo: Andrew Matthews/PAThe Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a son, Kensington Palace said last night.
The baby, who was born at 4.24pm, weighed 8lbs 6oz (4 kg).
The palace said in a statement: “Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm. The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz.
“The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth.
“The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news.
“Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well and will remain in hospital overnight.”
A Buckingham Palace spokes-man said: “The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are delighted at the news.”
At around 9.30pm (local time) the palace announcement was made, a notice giving details about the baby – the third-in-line to the throne – left St Mary’s Hospital in London by car for Buckingham Palace.
It was signed by the Queen’s former gynaecologist Marcus Setchell, who led the medical team that delivered Kate’s baby.
The notice was placed on an easel in the palace’s forecourt just like the announcement of William’s birth on June 21, 1982, a traditional element of theatre in marked contrast to the modern age of e-mails and Twitter.
The new royal baby will be the Queen’s third great-grandchild and is destined to be crowned as the UK’s monarch.
He will be the 43rd sovereign since William the Conqueror if, as expected, it follows reigns by the Prince of Wales then William.
The Duchess of Cambridge was hoping for a son and her wish has come true.
It was also claimed Prince Harry told close friends the royal couple were expecting a boy
When she was mid-way through her pregnancy, Kate told a soldier at a St Patrick’s Day parade in Aldershot, Hampshire, that she did not know the sex of her baby, but that she would like a boy and the Duke of Cambridge a girl.
Guardsman Lee Wheeler, 29, said: “I was talking to her about the baby, of course.
“I asked her ‘Do you know if it’s a girl or boy?’, and she said ‘Not yet’. She said ‘I’d like to have a boy and William would like a girl’. That’s always the way.”
Rumours that Kate actually knew she was having a boy went into overdrive when she divulged to a group of Army wives she had bought a trendy Bugaboo pram in light blue.
It was also claimed Prince Harry told close friends the royal couple were expecting a boy.
Initially, however, it was thought the new royal baby was a girl.
During a visit to Grimsby in March, Kate apparently let slip that she was expecting a daughter.
Accepting a teddy bear from a member of the public, she was said to have replied “Oh is this for our d...? Thank you so much.”
The public was left guessing until the official Palace announcement of the birth finally confirmed the arrival of a son.
The last prince to be born to the royal family was technically William’s cousin James, known as Viscount Severn, in 2007.