The Duchess of Cambridge, formerly Kate Middleton, has gone into labour and has been taken to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington where she will give birth.
duchess of Cambridge.
The Duchess of Cambridge with her husband after her last hospital stay, when she was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital with acute morning sickness.
The Duchess was admitted to St Mary's Hospital this morning and is "in the early stages of labour", Kensington Palace said.
She travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the private Lindo Wing of the hospital with the Duke of Cambridge by her side.
The Duke will remain with her at the hospital until the Duchess gives birth.
Sources confirmed that the Duchess arrived at the hospital at around 6am.
Kensington Palace waited until the Duchess had been seen by medical staff and was comfortable in the Lindo Wing before making the announcement. A spokesman said the Duchess was "progressing as normal".
The Duchess (formerly Kate Middleton) had been due to give birth in mid-July, meaning she has gone into labour just over a week later than expected.
The world's media has been staking out the hospital since the beginning of July, and more than 200 journalists, photographers and TV cameramen are expected to remain there until the Duchess leaves hospital with her baby.
When Diana, Princess of Wales gave birth to Prince William at the same hospital in 1982, she discharged herself just 36 hours after being admitted. She was in labour for 16 hours, having been admitted between 5am and 6am.
Prince William was born at 9.03pm on June 21, with the Prince of Wales by his wife's bedside.
Last month royal aides disclosed that the Duchess had opted to give birth naturally rather than by an elective Caesarian section.
The Duke and Duchess do not know the sex of their baby and will only find out when he or she is born.
Marcus Setchell, the Queen’s former gynaecologist, will deliver the baby, aided by the Queen’s current gynaecologist Alan Farthing, the former fiance of the murdered BBC presenter Jill Dando. Mr Setchell has abstained from alcohol since mid-June to make sure he was ready to deliver the baby whenever the call came.
The Lindo Wing charges a basic price of £4,965 for a "normal" delivery and a 24-hour stay, with each extra night costing an additional £1,050 for a deluxe room. The cost of the first 24 hours rises to £6,420 if a caesarean section is required.
The prices do not include the fee charged by consultants, and over the course of the entire pregnany, the bill is likely to be around £12,000.
The first indication that the Duchess has given birth will come when an aide leaves the hospital carrying a piece of paper with details of the baby’s sex, weight and time of birth, which they will hand to a driver to be taken to Buckingham Palace.
The notice will then be placed on an easel on the forecourt of the Palace for the waiting world to be given its first information about the future king or queen.
Shortly afterwards, the news will be put out on the Palace’s official Twitter feed, though aides stressed that no electronic communication would be made until the public had had a chance to see the official notice, as “it’s important that this is done with a degree of dignity and with half an eye on the historical significance” of the occasion.
Bookies have taken a steady stream of bets on the baby being a boy, partly because the Duchess is reported to have bought a blue pram, but a royal source said: “The Duke and Duchess don’t know the sex of the baby and they have decided not to find out beforehand.”
No announcement of the birth will be made until after the Queen, other senior members of the Royal family, and the Middleton family have been informed.
If the Duchess gives birth in the middle of the night no announcement is likely to be made until the Queen has woken, as sources said they did not expect her to be woken up specially to be told the news.
The royal couple have so far given no indication as to whether they have chosen names for the baby.
When the Duke of Cambridge was born his name was not announced for a week, reportedly because the Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales could not agree on one.
It's pretty big news world wide so thought it was apt to make a thread.
There is already a thread in GC discussing the validity of the royal family so please try and keep it out of this thread.
I'm not a royalist by any stretch but I am excited, because its the first time Ive been alive for a direct heir being born. Also I think its the first time in a long time that there will be 3 people in line for the throne whilst the reigning monarch is fit and healthy.
I have heard that the odds on the names are Alexandra and George, I hope that they mark some of their families by having middle names for them.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
I'm excited for them. I'm not a royalist either, but do have a soft spot for them since Queen Elizabeth's visit here two years ago when she charmed us all (well a lot of us anyway). I think William & Kate are very likeable and much more relatable than a lot of the rest of the royal family. I hope Kate and the baby are happy and healthy, that's the most important thing. I think Alexandra would be a lovely name for a girl. Heard Charlotte and Grace too, both beautiful names. Wouldn't be so keen on George, but would obviously be a fitting name for a prince. I'll be following this closely, can't wait to see if it's a boy or girl and what they call him/her
Be kind - everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle
Yeah I think thats the point....because before William and Kate there was a big gap in ages and I think Charles and Camilla aren't in anyway relatable. Maybe its because Kate and William try and do 'normal' things and they seem like the genuinely want to be together that they seem about as down to earth as you can be being royal.
I think most people want it to be a girl because she would be making history but as long as its healthy then I think thats all people are hoping for. I have heard Charlotte too, that would be a lovely name. I heard Francis too as well! I think George is very traditional and although not my cup of tea its a name that does sound pretty royal!
Me too, its exciting!If I were in London today I wouldve probably gone to Buckingham Palace, apparently the band were playing 'walking on sunshine' at the changing of the guard!
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
No its in the loft, my dad will get it down when they get home :3
There is champagne in the fridge though!x
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
She has had a boy! 8 pounds something and had him at around 4pm. :)
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
I know I was more excited than I expected to be as i'm not a royalist either but glad she had a boy as that will make them all happy ;) I was watching the news last night and a reporter said 'a girl would have made more interesting news' and I kind of agree but am just glad they've got a healthy baby boy :).Now the big question what are we thinking name wise?
“There is no sun without shadow, and it is essential to know the night.”
Me in a chatroom 'Imagine if the first time they take the royal baby to buckingham palace, everyone starts singing 'Oh just can't wait to be king' from the lion king' James-'And then they hold the baby up like they do in the film'
me-'And then the queen walks out singing the circle of life' (Cue everyone wetting themselves and counsellor (Wendy) going silent)
Me-'Either Wendy doesn't find it funny, or she's laughed so hard she's had to go change her tena lady...'
I thought they seemed so relaxed and happy when they left today. So much less strained than when diana and charles left. Totally guessed she would be wearing blue!i think it will be George.x
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
Yeah I heard charles and philip but I reckon they will be middle names!I cant imagine Prince Spencer lol.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
Watching CBBC yesterday, and they asked kids to email in asking what the baby should be called.
Best response:
"They should call him Harry, because my hamster is called Harry and he is very clever"
LOL
“The only way that we can live is if we grow. The only way we can grow is if we change. The only way we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we are exposed is if we throw ourselves into the open.”
But you never know they might choose a normal name e.g. John because remember kate is not born from a royal family.
“The only way that we can live is if we grow. The only way we can grow is if we change. The only way we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we are exposed is if we throw ourselves into the open.”
I think they will pick something trad and historical. As much as catherine isnt royalty etc ilI think she knows its important to have a name that has royal significance. If you look at other kings and queens names they nearly always link to another king/queen.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
“The only way that we can live is if we grow. The only way we can grow is if we change. The only way we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we are exposed is if we throw ourselves into the open.”
