The long wait for the royal baby is finally over.
At 8.34am (UK time) yesterday, the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a baby girl – the first princess to be born into the House of Windsor in 25 years.
Following royal tradition, the announcement was presented on an easel outside Buckingham Palace.
At 6am yesterday morning, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge left Kensington Palace in London and travelled by car to St Mary’s Hospital, less than 3km away, where royal watchers have been keeping a vigil for days.
The as-yet-unnamed princess was safely delivered, weighing a healthy 3.7kg. Her brother, Prince George, weighed slightly less than 3.8kg when he was born in 2013.
According to Kensington Palace, Prince William was present throughout the birth.
Throughout London, famous landmarks were lit up with the news – the BT Tower ran a banner announcing “it’s a girl”, while Tower Bridge was lit up with pink lights.
Although the royals had chosen not to find out whether they were having a boy or girl, odds were firmly in favour of the new arrival being a girl.
The Telegraph reported that online betting site Coral was offering final odds of 1-2 on a baby girl.
By lunchtime, Princess Alice was firmly at the top of the list of possible names, with Coral offering odds of 6-4. Other favourites included Charlotte (5-2), Elizabeth (5-1) and Victoria (6-1). Odds on the new princess being named Diana were 10-1.
Princess Alice was one of Queen Victoria’s daughters.