The Royal Family was celebrating the birth of a new royal heir this morning with the birth of a son to Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.
The boy, who is now third in line to the throne, was born at 4.24pm English time on Monday in the maternity wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London. He weighed 3.6 kilograms and was delivered naturally with Prince William present. The child’s name is yet to be announced.
Prince William said in a statement that he and his wife “could not be happier” while Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip, the new boy’s great-grandparents , said they were delighted at the news. Prince Charles and Lady Camilla also welcomed the news with the first-time grandfather saying he was “enormously proud and happy”.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the whole country would celebrate the news, adding that the couple would make “wonderful parents”.
Messages of congratulations were streaming in from around the world including from Australia where the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, delivering “heartfelt” congratulations on behalf of all Australians while the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he and his wife Therese “share in the joy of the Royal Family”.
US President Barack Obama said he and his wife Michelle wished the couple “all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings”.
