London: The world on Tuesday got its first glimpse of the baby destined to be Britain's King one day, as Prince William and Kate Middleton posed with their newborn son while leaving hospital for ecstatic Britons to capture the historic moment. Prince William and Kate Middleton emerged on the steps of St Mary's Hospital in London on Tuesday evening with their newborn baby boy for the first time.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge gave the world a glimpse of the Prince of Cambridge for the customary royal family portrait amid cheers from the crowd of well-wishers and media persons from across the globe who were camped outside the hospital. "He has a good pair of lungs on him and he's quite heavy. We are still working on a name," said William, taking the little prince from his wife's arms.
"He's got her (Kate) looks, thankfully," he added, when asked who the baby looks like. 31-year-old Kate said: "It is a very emotional moment, like any new parent would know". William, 31, dressed casually in a blue shirt with rolled up sleeves, and Kate wearing a light blue polka dotted dress, then took their 26-hour-old baby boy wrapped in a white blanket back into the hospital to secure him into a car seat before stepping out again into a Range Rover to be driven away to their home in Kensington Palace.
In the minutes leading up to their exit at 19:13 (local time), Kensington Palace had issued a statement confirming that the Duchess was to be discharged on Tuesday evening. Just before they made their exit, Prince Charles had visited the the Lindo Wing of the hospital to see his first grandchild and the third in line to Britain's throne. Accompanied by wife Camilla Parker-Bowles, Charles saw the newest royal heir for the first time at the same wing where both his own sons William and Harry were born.
He had triggered a frenzy among the waiting reporters and camerapersons as he said on his departure: "He (royal baby) is marvellous. You will see in a minute". It was the first indication that the royal couple were likely to depart the hospital with the newborn later on in the evening. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, had sent a message saying she was "absolutely thrilled".
Earlier on Tuesday, parents of Kate Middleton Carole and Michael Middleton, visited the new mother and their first grandchild at the hospital. Britain was in full celebratory mood on Tuesday after Prince William's wife Kate Middleton gave birth to the bouncing baby boy with hundreds thronging the street leading to the hospital. "We could not be happier," said William, the 31-year-old Duke of Cambridge, in reference to the new prince of Cambridge, whose name is yet to be announced.
The Duchess of Cambridge, 31, gave birth on Monday to the baby boy, weighing 3.8 kilos (8 lbs 6 oz), at the private Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington here. Earlier, William and Kate thanked hospital staff for caring the baby, who was "doing well". "Mother, son and father are all doing well this morning," a spokesman of the Kensington Palace, William and Kate's official residence, said in a statement.
"We would like to thank the staff at the Lindo Wing and the whole hospital for the tremendous care the three of us have received," the Royal couple said in the statement. "We know it has been a very busy period for the hospital and we would like to thank everyone - staff, patients and visitors - for their understanding during this time."
People continued to celebrate the birth of the boy even as congratulatory messages poured in from across the globe. The fountain in Trafalgar Square was lit up with blue lighting to mark the birth of the third in line to Britain's throne and "It's a boy" was instantly being flashed on the BT Tower in central London. Queen Elizabeth II was the first to be informed about her newest great-grandson by phone. Prince Charles, the grandfather of the baby, responded to news of the birth by saying he was "enormously proud and happy" of becoming a grandparent.
"Both my wife and I are overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild. It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy," he said. "Grandparenthood is a unique moment in anyone's life, as countless kind people have told me in recent months, so I am enormously proud and happy to be a grandfather for the first time and we are eagerly looking forward to seeing the baby in the near future," Charles said. British Prime Minister David Cameron was among the first to take to Twitter to say: "I'm delighted for the Duke and Duchess now their son has been born. The whole country will celebrate. They'll make wonderful parents".
US President Barack Obama said, "Michelle and I are so pleased to congratulate the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the joyous occasion of the birth of their first child. We wish them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings. The child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations".
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