It’s a Girl! Kate Middleton Gives Birth to First Princess of Cambridge in More Than 180 Years

May 02, 20152:30 PM

Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, show their newborn daughter, their second child, to the media outside the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital in central London, on May 2, 2015.
Photo by John Stillwell/AFP/Getty Images

UPDATE: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge presented the newest royal baby to the world Saturday afternoon, when they left the hospital to head back to Kensington Palace. The princess appeared to be fast asleep in her mother’s arms during her first public appearance.

“It all happened rather quickly in the end,” writes the BBC’s Daniela Relph. “Within 12 hours of arriving at the hospital in the early stages of labor, the duchess had left St Mary’s with her new baby in her arms and her husband at her side.”

Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge holds her newly-born daughter, her second child with Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, as they show her to the media outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in central London, on May 2, 2015.
Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

Original post on May 2 at 11 a.m.: The Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a daughter, and both mother and baby are doing well. The girl still does not have a name, but we do know that at 8 pounds, 3 ounces, she is three ounces lighter than her older brother Prince George. And she may not be the firstborn, but the new baby is the first Princess of Cambridge to be born for more than 180 years, notes the Guardian. The new baby is fourth in line to the throne and the Queen Elizabeth II’s fifth great-grandchild.

A royal bulletin announcing that Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William’s wife, has given birth to a baby girl, the Princess of Cambridge, stands on an easel on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace in London on May 2, 2015.
Photo by Niklas Halle’n/AFP/Getty Images

Royal fans have been gathered outside the hospital for days and were delighted by the news, chanting, “Princess! Princess!” and “Hip, hip, hooray!” The birth took place less than three hours after Kate was admitted to the hospital. Prince William was present for the birth, which was announced with lots of pomp and circumstance; a town crier wearing an elaborate costume shouted the news from the hospital door, details the Associated Press. “May our princess be long-lived, happy and glorious,” he said.

The birth also made lots of people a bit of cash, considering that for weeks all the betting had highly favored the prediction that the baby would be a girl. The big question now will be the name. and so far the betting favorites are Alice, Charlotte, and Elizabeth, notes the Washington Post. The royal couple are reportedly set to hire a temporary nanny to help them out in the first weeks of their new baby’s life, according to the Telegraph.