It’s a boy!
At 4.24pm on July 22 2013 in the exclusive Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, what one American reporter called the “Kate wait” ended and the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a son. The baby weighed a decent eight lb 6 oz, has as yet no official name other than the Prince of Cambridge, and is flourishing. Twitter went predictably crazy and everybody was asking questions about the baby’s name, with George and Henry the frontrunners. Prince William, who spent the first night with his wife and son in hospital, said the couple “could not be happier”.
Around the world, the third in line to the British throne received warm wishes, with President Obama congratulating his parents on this “joyous” event and David Cameron referring to “a historic moment…but above all it’s a wonderful moment for a warm and loving couple who have a brand new baby boy”.
The BT tower in London flashed a stork against a blue background with the headline It’s a boy, and today, marking the baby prince’s arrival, the bells at Westminster Abbey pealed for three hours.
Internationally, royal fans went wild with cafes in Little Britain in New York’s Greenwich village rolling out the bunting. The Tea and Sympathy shop had two possible banners ready and a lot of pink cupcakes as they’d expected a girl.
Royal births through history have proved a rich vein for trivia question setters.
Did you know that until just before the Queen had Prince Charles in 1948, the Home Secretary had to attend the birth, plus the Archbishop of Canterbury?
When the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, she was a fortnight late and the Home Secretary JR Clynes nearly didn’t make it as he was ready for bed. But he scrambled to Glamis Castle just in time.
It’s rumoured when the Queen first saw Prince William in St Mary’s, she said to Prince Charles “Thank goodness he hasn’t got your ears!”
Trivia hunters have been snapping up items like regal babygros for months but now the commemorative industry, estimated to be worth around £240m, can really get into gear.
Returning to the name question, who suggested his own Christian name to Prince Charles when William was born? Veteran Sun photographer Arthur Edwards.
The Question Co have an extensive catalogue of royal baby trivia questions available to license.
If you wish to buy royal quiz questions then please get in touch with any enquiries.
