The Royal Baby: It's a Boy!

It's official: the newest member of the royal family is a boy. The as-yet unnamed His Royal Highness Prince [future baby name here] of Cambridge was born at about 4:30 p.m. local time at St. Mary's Hospital, and weighed 8 lbs 6 oz.

By Dashiell Bennett and Abby Ohlheiser

July 22, 2013

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ITS A BOY!!! born at 4:24
— Royalist (@royalist) July 22, 2013

The news, in a shakeup to tradition, was announced first by press release:

(via the AP)

And then posted to the so-called "golden easel" outside of Buckingham Palace:

(via NBC News)

The Duchess of Cambridge went into labor (or labour) earlier this morning, officially putting the world on notice for the new prince's arrival. The hundreds of reporters already camped outside St. Mary's finally got what they were waiting for early on Monday as the Kate formerly known as Middleton checked in to her maternity suite around 6:00 a.m. local time.

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London in the early stages of labour.
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) July 22, 2013

This picture, taken shortly after the news of Kate's arrival at the hosptial broke, gives you some sense of the scope of the assembled media awaiting the birth. And the crowd grew even more as as more reporters, tourists, and interested onlookers descended on the scene:

(via AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

That's compared to this picture from Prince William's birth 31 years ago.

St Mary's Hospital 31 years ago when Prince William born. Today about 4x as many there for #GreatKateWait pic.twitter.com/iPuEfNZuPM
— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) July 22, 2013

Jesal Parshotam, a freelance photographer staking out the hospital, explained to The Evening Standard, how he broke the news that the Duchess had arrived at the hospital, but passed up the chance to take a photo of her entering, saying "I made that decision — she’s a woman in labour. I just wanted to photograph the commotion and convoy of cars. That was a personal decision we both made. To take a picture of her would have been over stepping the mark."

Crowds also gathered at Buckingham Palace, where the Queen awaited the news of newest great-grandchild.

(Photo: REUTERS/Olivia Harris)

As news broke that an announcement concerning the royal baby was imminent, the media frenzy already in high gear really started to get going.

British and international leaders are lining up to congratulate the family on the new kid, who is now third in line to the throne. Here's a sampling of statements:

The Queen:

"The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are delighted at the news," reads a short statement, according to NBC News.

President Obama:

"Michelle and I are so pleased to congratulate The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the joyous occasion of the birth of their first child. We wish them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings. The child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations. Given the special relationship between us, the American people are pleased to join with the people of the United Kingdom as they celebrate the birth of the young prince."

Prince Charles:

"Both my wife and I are overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild" - Prince Charles via Clarence House statement #royalbaby
— TODAY (@todayshow) July 22, 2013

Prime Minister David Cameron:

UK PM David Cameron: "I'm delighted for the Duke and Duchess now their son has been born. The whole country will celebrate" #RoyalBaby
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) July 22, 2013

For those of you wondering why there's no baby name yet: the royal family has been known in the past to take its time choosing a name. So we might have to wait awhile to learn what it is (though we've helpfully handicapped some of their options). Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to formally present the boy to the public in the next few days.

The unnamed royal baby shares a birthday with (among others) Selena Gomez, Rufus Wainwright, rapper Petey Pablo, actor Rhys Ifans, former NFL player Keyshawn Johnson, pro wrestler Shawn Michaels, David Spade, John Leguizamo, Keith Sweat, Willem Dafoe, composer Alan Menken, Don Henley, author S.E. Hinton, Albert Brooks, Danny Glover, musician George Clinton, Alex Trebek, Terence Stamp, Tom Robbins, Oscar de la Renta, and Bob Dole.