News Digest

Royal baby: Duchess ‘doing well’ after giving birth to daughter weighing 8lbs 3oz

The Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a girl, Kensington Palace has announced. The Duke of Cambridge was also present for the birth of the couple’s second child, who weighed in at 8lbs 3oz. Both mother and baby are “doing well”, the palace said. The Duchess gave birth just after 8.30am and the delay between then and an announcement just after 11.15am is understood to have been so the couple could tell their families. The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and the baby’s uncle Prince Harry had been informed and are “delighted” with the news, the palace said.

The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news.

Statement from Kensington Palace

Kate was a number of days overdue and had been taken to the Lindo wing of St Mary’s Hospital at 6am from her nearby home Kensington Palace. The birth of a girl will have been a surprise to the royal couple, who had chosen not to find out the sex of their baby in advance. The Prince of Wales, however, will be overjoyed as he made no secret he wanted his second grandchild to be a girl. Prime Minister David Cameron led the congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the birth their new daughter, writing on Twitter that he is “absolutely delighted for them”. The princess is fourth in line to the throne, the Queen’s fifth great-grandchild and a spare to the heir - and Prince George’s sister. Her name is yet to be announced but the favourites include Alice, the name of one of Queen Victoria’s daughters and also of the Duke of Edinburgh’s mother, and Charlotte - the feminine form of Charles - which may be chosen as a nod to William’s father, the Prince of Wales.