VANCOUVER – The new heir to the British throne will be a…Well, you’ll just have to wait.
Prince William and Catherine do not yet know if they will have a boy or a girl, and they don’t want to know until the child is born.
Kate is due to give birth sometime around the middle of July.
It’s widely speculated that Kate will giver birth to the princess or prince in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s hospital, in Paddington, where William was born on June 21, 1982.
Royal baby: boy or girl? Place your bets
St. James’s Palace revealed the news at a press briefing in London on Wednesday, detailing the protocol of how the child’s birth will be announced to the public.
There will be no announcement over loud speakers, press conference or smoke from a chimney.
A royal official will travel from the hospital, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s child will be born, and travel to Buckingham Palace to deliver the news.
The bulletin will be placed on an easel a few metres inside the Palace gate.
For our ongoing coverage of The Royals, click here
A news release will also be sent to press via email, and will contain the baby’s gender, weight and time of birth.
Queen Elizabeth II, the Royal family, Kate’s family and U.K. Prime minister David Cameron will have already been informed.
This was the same protocol used when Prince William was born, minus the email.
Read more: Conservatives to introduce bill that would change rules for royal succession
A spokesperson said the medical team will be led by royal gynecologist Dr. Marcus Setchell.
Officials said William “fully intends to be present at the birth.” The birth is expected to take place at the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s hospital in central London. That is the hospital where William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, were born.
The public will be told in the early stages of labour, once Kate has settled into her room. Officials said royals and members of the Middleton family are likely to visit, but Queen Elizabeth II is not expected to visit at the hospital because she will be on her summer vacation at the Balmoral estate in Scotland.
The name of the baby will be revealed at a later time. When William was born, a week passed before his name was announced.
Share your ideas: What do you think the royal baby should be named?
More questions and answers about what to expect on the royal baby’s birthday:
PACING THE HALLWAY OR IN THE ROOM WITH HIS WIFE?
Officials said William “fully intends to be present at the birth.” The birth is expected to take place at the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s hospital in central London. That is the hospital where William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, were born.
WHO’S IN CHARGE?
A spokesman said the medical team will be led by royal gynecologist Dr. Marcus Setchell.
WILL THE PUBLIC KNOW WHEN KATE IS ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL?
Officials said there will be no advance notice. The public will be told once she has settled in her room in the early stages of labour, the spokesman said, anticipating that this would be within an hour of her arrival at the hospital.
HOW WILL PEOPLE FIND OUT THAT AN HEIR TO THE THRONE HAS BEEN BORN?
This will be a mix of tradition and new social media. Officials said a royal aide will emerge from the hospital with a signed bulletin on foolscap-sized paper carrying the Buckingham Palace letterhead. The bulletin will be given to an official who will be driven to the Palace, where it will be posted on an easel in public view in front of the building. At the same time the bulletin is posted, there will be an announcement on Twitter and the media will be formally notified. The document will give the baby’s gender, weight and time of birth.
VISITING HOURS?
Officials said royals and members of the Middleton family are likely to visit, but Queen Elizabeth II is not expected to visit at the hospital because she will be on her summer vacation at the Balmoral estate in Scotland.
WHERE’S DADDY?
William plans to take two weeks paternity leave and then return to his military duties as a search and rescue helicopter pilot in Wales.
With files from The Associated Press
Comments