As Britain holds its breath awaiting the announcement of new Prince or Princess, here are the
moments that led to the royal birth:
June 13: Kate carries out her last solo official engagement when she named a new cruise liner, the Royal Princess.
June 15: The Duchess of Cambridge made her last public appearance ahead of the birth of her first child at the Trooping the Colour ceremony in centre London.
June 22: The Duchess opts out of attending the wedding of William’s close friend Thomas van Straubenzee due to risk she may go into labour.
June 26: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are spotted getting a lift in a friend’s helicopter from North Wales to Denham in Buckinghamshire.
July 11: Kate misses the Coronation Festival at Buckingham Palace which was attended by her parents, sister Pippa and brother James.
July 13: The date widely reported as being Kate’s due date comes and go without a royal baby in sight.
July 14: Prince William and Prince Harry both compete in charity polo matches in Gloucestershire just a day after his baby’s due date.
July 15: Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, reveals members of the royal family are waiting by the phone as the baby is expected at the end of the week during a visit to Little Harbour children’s hospice at Porthpean, near St Austell, Cornwall.
July 16: Kate’s uncle Gary Goldsmith predicts that the Duchess of Cambridge will give birth to a baby girl.
July 17: Queen Elizabeth sparks rumours Kate is overdue after telling a schoolgirl on a trip to Cumbria: ‘I would very much like it to arrive because I’m going on holiday soon… I wish it would hurry up.’
July 19: Speculation mounts that the royal baby is due imminently as fire fighters rush to Kate’s family home in west Berkshire – to rescue her pet spaniel Lupo after he got his head trapped in a gate.
July 20: Kate and Prince William spend the weekend together at their Kensington Palace home as they wait for the arrival of their first-born who is widely reported to be overdue.
July 21, 11pm: Police cordon off the street surrounding St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.
July 22, 5.30am: Royal couple leave their home in Kensington Palace in central London and drive to hospital without a police escort.
July 22, 5.55am: The Duchess of Cambridge is admitted to the private Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, west London, where Prince William and Harry were both born.
July 22, 7.29am: Palace officials confirm that Kate has gone into labour to preserve her ‘dignity’ as social media makes keeping baby’s imminent arrival a secret virtually impossible.
July 22, 9am: The world’s media take position outside the hospital awaiting a public statement from Prince William when the baby is born.
July 22, 10am: Well-wishers from around the world surround Buckingham Palace with camera hoping to spot the easel outside which will hold the notice announcing the baby’s birth.
July 22, 4.24pm: The Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to a son weighing a healthy 8lb 6oz, but the news is kept secret to allow the new family a chance for 'quality time'
July 22, 8.29pm: The world's media is alerted to the birth of the Royal baby four hours earlier via a press release sent from Kensington Palace
July 22, 8.47pm: A Royal close-protection officer arrives at St Mary's hospital with two takeaway pizzas, presumably for the Royal couple
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