At 4.24 p.m. on July 22nd a baby was born in London. But not just any baby! This baby boy is a prince and will probably one day be the King of England.
The Royal Family and the golden couple
The British Royal Family are more popular than ever. 69% of the population think Britain would be "worse off" without a royal family, and only 10% would prefer to vote for the next Head of State. So what explains this pro-royal feeling? Well, perhaps it has something to do with the popularity of Prince William, and his wife Catherine (Kate for short). Since their romance began at university, the couple have provided constant interest and entertainment for the British media and their fans in the general public. Now, with the arrival of their baby, who is third in line to the throne to be the future King of England, excitement is higher than ever.
A royal wedding
Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement in 2010, and the wedding took place in April 2011. The Queen declared the wedding day a national holiday in the UK. There were street parties all over Britain, including one in Downing Street hosted by the Prime Minister David Cameron. The media talked obsessively about every detail of the day; the wedding dress, the guests, the route to Westminster Abbeey, the kiss on the balcony ... everything was analysed carefully. You couldn't open a newspaper or a magazine or switch on the television without seeing the happy royal couple.
A fairytale princess?
For people from countries who do not have a royal family, maybe the idea of marrying a prince and becoming a princess seems like something from a fairytale. But is it really a dream come true? What is life really like for Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge? On the one hand she lives a celebrity lifestyle of exotic travel, beautiful clothes, the best restaurants and spending time with famous people. On the other hand, she actually works very hard. She supports several charities, appears at official events and has the eyes of the world on her at all times. It can't be easy knowing that every step you take is beig photographed and reported by the press and later examined by your adoring fans.
The royal baby
Kate and William's son was born on July 22nd 2013 and has made Prince Charles a grrandfather for the first time. The Queen is now a great-grandmother! As the royal couple arrived at the hospital there were already hundreds of reporters from around the world waiting outside to hear the news.
Buckingham Palace announced the birth by putting a notice outside by the palace gates on a fancy-looking golden stand. Immediately hundreds of people arrived at the palace to celebrate the news. There was a party atmosphere on the streets of London and news reports went out around the world to tell everyone about the arrival of the baby prince. Other cities around the world joined in the celebrations too; Niagara Falls in Canada was llit up with blue lights, as were other landmarks around the world. The day after the birth of the prince the front pages of all the major newspapers carried the story. One paper, The Sun, even changed its name to The Son for the day! Others published special souvenir editions. One online newspaper, the Guardian, gave their readers two options on their website - to see the news with or without reports of the royal birth. This was welcomed by many who find the hype and media attention a little too much.
The life of a prince
What sort of life will the little prince have? Kate and William will no doubt try to keep his childhood as normal as it possibly can be. But this won't be easy with the world's media following your every move from even before the moment you are born. Princess Diana faced the same challenge with her sons, William and Harry. She tried to ensure that they did some of the same things as other children of their age llike go to theme parks and play outside. Only time will tell what sort of life this prince will lead. For now it seems the nation are enjoying welcoming him into the world and whether you're a keen royalist or not, there's not a lot you can do to avoid hearing the news about this new arrival. Congratulations to Will and Kate!
