The long awaited new royal baby is FINALLY here. It seems like we've been waiting for this moment forever! On Monday April 23rd, 2018, the Official Kensington Palace Twitter account tweeted this very short and sweet tweet, "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 1101hrs. The baby weighs 8 lbs 7 oz. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well." One thing we're all wondering....What is the babies name?
It looks like the family is holding back that little question. Shortly after the tweet that didn't mention any sign of a name, George and Charlotte came to visit their little brother. Then, the royal youngster made his first public debut on the steps of the Lindo Wing. Since the pregnancy announcement back in September, there has been speculation on every aspect of baby number three, from the name (which again, we still don't know) to the baby's potential godparents. Here's what we know about the little lad so far.
1. The Royal Baby Is Fifth In Line
The little prince is actually fifth in line to Britain's throne. He comes after Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte. Unfortunately, this means that it pushes Prince Harry all the way back into sixth place in the order of succession, and every other member of the royal family will be one step further from the throne.
In 2013, there was the Succession to the Crown Act put in place, meaning that the new royal baby will not displace Princess Charlotte in line to the throne. The old rules stated that a new male offspring would have taken precedence over Princess Charlotte in the original order of succession.
2. The Royal Baby Was Born At The Lindo Wing
Like his siblings, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the royal baby was born at the Lindo Wing in St. Mary's Hospital, West London. There were rumors swirling earlier on in Kate's pregnancy that she would be considering a home birth, but the newest royal was instead delivered at St. Mary's Hospital. Apparently, the hospital has been preparing for the baby's arrival for weeks.
A royal photographer named Arthur Edwards, was the first to share a photo of the freshly painted railings outside the entrance in preparation of the royals. It seems that this is coming to be a tradition as both Prince William and Prince Harry were also born in the private wing of the hospital. However, this hasn't always been the case with royal births. The Queen was born at a home that belonged to her mother's parents in London's Mayfair, and Prince Charles was born at Buckingham Palace.
3. The Birth Was Announced On An Easel
It's tradition for news of the baby's time of birth, gender, and weight to be confirmed in a letter that is kept outside the Palace. Back in the day, before social media, and media itself, this were the only way for the people to find out the gender of the child.
This time, as with Prince Georg, and Princess Charlotte, these details were displayed amongst the royal social media accounts. The new baby also has an official page on the royal family's website.
4.The Baby's Christening Will Be Soon
Although it's not known where the latest addition to the family will be christened, it's known that royal infants are normally baptized when they are just a few months old. Princess Charlotte was baptized at a church on the Sandringham estate two months after her arrival on May 2, George was only three months old when he was christened at the Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace.
The people of Britain are also speculating on the potential godparents of the new royal prince. Royals normally have multiple godparents, George has seven and Charlotte has five. It doesn't look like Prince Harry will be a godparent since either George nor Charlotte have any aunts or uncles as godparents. But, it's no doubt that Uncle Harry and Aunt Meghan will be hands-on relative.
5. The Baby's Christening Gown
The christening gown will be a replica of the one that was first designed for Queen Victoria in 1841. It's reported by The Telegraph that "this Victorian gown with a Honiton lace overlay has been worn by 62 babies during it's lifespan."
The Queen soon declared the original version of the gown too delicate to use once more, and so a replica was made in 2004. Princess Charlotte became the fifth royal infant to be christened in the new gown.
6. Royal Babies Usually Have Three to Four Names
The first and middle names of the kids are normally homages to relatives or previous monarchs.
For example, the Queen's full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, honoring her mother, her eternal great-grandmother, and her paternal grandmother. Speculations about the baby's name have circulated. Many have thought for a boy it would be Arthur, Philip, Henry, Albert or James.
7. There Was A Gun Salute To Acknowledge The Birth
Tradition says that gun salutes are fired for the birth of every prince or princess, no matter where their place is within the succession.
The most recent salute was for Princess Charlotte in 2015, when The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery rode out in a procession to sound 41 shots in Hyde Park.
8. There's no Need For Government Officials To Be There
Tradition used to state that government officials needed to be present when a royal was born.
When the Queen was born in1926, Home Secretary Sir William Johnson-Hicks was in the room. Luckily for Kate, this tradition ended long before the birth of Prince Charles.
9. Prince Charles
Prince Charles released a statement about the birth of his newest grandchild.
The Clarence House twitter account said, "We are both so pleased at the news,” the proud grandfather said in the statement. “It is a great joy to have another grandchild, the only trouble is I don't know how I am going to keep up with them."