A little prince in daddy's arms

Kate wore blue for her baby boy as she brought him out of hospital as they headed home to start family life this evening.  And the little Prince of Cambridge almost seemed to wave as he was rocked in mum's arms on the first of a million appearances before the cameras over his lifetime.

William took over and chatted happily to the cameras and then brought baby back out in his car seat and drove his family home.

It was a far cry from the way medieval queen consorts introduced their babies to the world, sitting back while elaborate christenings went ahead.  And much more hands on than the Victorian method of a formal black and white photo months after the event.

For those of us old enough to remember baby Cambridge's father being born it was moving to see that little bundle who went home in his mother's arms carry his first born out all these years later.  And moving too to think that if this little man lives as long as the great granny who tonight said she was thrilled by his arrival, those little hands we first saw wiggle their fingers tonight will still be waving at the cameras as the 22nd century dawns.

Royal births on 22 July

Baby Cambridge is on the way.  After months of speculation, Kate and William have reached the really scary part of bringing a baby into the world.  Everyone else is waiting for the happy news while they, well she, sweats her way through the long hours it takes to deliver a child.

The hospital where the royal baby will be born - Kate is now in labour in the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London

 

 

A first baby can take a long time and as Kate is overdue then that can mean things are going to go very slowly indeed.  But let's hope for Kate there's not too much of a wait and that the little prince or princess of Cambridge arrives today.

 

Monday's child is fair of face - there's a good chance of that with a pretty mum and a handsome dad.  And if Kate and William become parents today their little boy or girl will share a birthday with some other royals in history.

 

 

The royal family, seen here at Trooping the Colour in 2012, is about to grow by another member who will one day take centre stage on the balcony as head of the royal household

 

First of all we have Joan Platagenet later Queen of the Scots.  She was born on July 22nd 1210, the eldest daughter of King John and his queen consort, Isabella of Angouleme.  She already had two big brothers so was never going to be Queen of England but by marrying Alexander II of Scotland she did wear a crown.  She died in Essex in 1238 and pretty soon her brother's regime was waging war on her former husband.

 

 

Joan of England, later Queen of the Scots was a royal baby born on July22nd - baby Cambridge could arrive on the same day with just the 703 year gap

 

 

Another royal birth on this day in 1478 had an impact on the English monarchy and on the lives of six queen consorts.  On July 22nd that year Mary of Burgundy gave birth to a son called Felipe who became the king of Castile.  A young Henry VIII would meet Felipe I, as he was then, when the Spanish king visited the English court and saw in him a role model for a modern ruler.  Henry's determination to rule in the way he saw fit, regardless of what had gone before, was a large factor in his decision to take six wives.  And they became brothers-in-law of a sort.  Felipe married Juana, the sister of Catherine of Aragon, and queen Castile and Leon in her own right.  However, by the time Henry married his first Kate, Felipe was dead and Juana was suffering from serious mental health problems.

 

 

Philip of Castile was a role model for Henry VIII who met him when he visited the English court with his wife, Juana, the sister of Catherine of Aragon

 

 

And there is a very tenuous link to the former royal house of Cambridge.  On July 22nd 1848 the former Princess Augusta of Cambridge gave birth to a son and called him Adolphus.  This princess of Cambridge was the sister of the mother of Queen Consort Mary of Teck.  Adolphus went on to be Duke of Mecklenberg-Strelitz while his little cousin, born 19 years later, wore the consort's crown of England.

 

 

Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenberg-Strelitz, and son of Princess Augusta of Cambridge was born on July 22nd 1848.  His cousin became Queen Consort Mary of England and Kate and William's baby will be her great, great, great grandchild.

 

In more modern times, July 22nd 2002 was a happy day for the Danish royal family with the arrival of the second grandchild of Queen Margrethe II.  Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra, welcomed Felix Henrik Veldemar Christian into the world in hospital in Copenhagen.  Felix, whose name means happy, is now eighth in line to the throne of Denmark.

 

 

 

Prince Felix of Denmark arrived on July 22nd 2002 - the last royal birth on that day...until now?

(photo Bill Ebbesen)









July 13th would be perfect for a Queen Alexandra

Hundreds of photographers, camera crews and reporters are camped outside St Mary's Hospital in Paddington waiting for a glimpse of the Duchess of Cambridge who is due to give birth there any day now.  Today is of course the day that doctors think the future monarch will be born but like all first time mothers, Kate will know that it could be up to a fortnight from now before the royal baby makes an appearance.  Unlike all other first time mothers, she'll have the world watching as she arrives at the hospital to give birth, intimidating in anyone's book.

 

St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London is about to become the birthplace of a future monarch for the second time.
(photo Stephen McKay)

But if this future king or queen does arrive today, perhaps history gives us a pointer as to what they might be called.  On this day in 1249 Alexander III was inaugurated as King of the Scots.  The seven year old had become king six days earlier on the death of his father, Alexander II, and while his early reign was characterized by the usual infighting between advisers struggling for control of the boy king and his kingdom, his later reign was seen as stable, strong and powerful and his death and the instability that followed was widely mourned.

The inauguration of Alexander III as King of Scotland in July 1249 at Moot Hill, Scone

 

 

Alexandra has long been a favourite with the bookies for a future queen regnant - mostly because of its links to queen consort, Alexandra of Denmark, and who gave her name to the future Queen Regnant Elizabeth II who was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary.  It's also got great Scottish links and if baby does arrive on the anniversary of Alexander III's christening then it could gain even more ground in the race to name a future monarch.

 

 

Alexander III is remembered with a statue at St Giles, Edinburgh

 

 

But what about a King Alexander?  It doesn't appear in most bookies' listing as a possible name for a future king but with its royal precedents in Scotland, it could be an overlooked outsider.  However, it does have recent sad memories for the royal family.  Queen Consort Alexandra's last child was a son called Alexander John who died within a day of his birth.  But Alexander is a popular name in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at the moment and its use for a future king would keep with tradition while setting a personal seal on the monarchy for Queen Consort in waiting, Kate Middleton.