When Prince William and Kate welcomed their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the couple were able to enjoy the news for a few hours before announcing it to the world. They celebrated in private at the Lindo Wing in St Mary's Hospital, with William making the all-important calls to their closest family members.
The Duke and Duchess tend to wait a few hours before making the official announcement, to allow them time to celebrate the birth in private and to tell their family. Kate gave birth to her son Prince George at 4:24pm on Monday 22 July 2013, but the official statement from Kensington Palace wasn't released until around 8pm. Similarly, Princess Charlotte was born at 8:34am on Saturday 2 May 2015, but the world wasn't told until around 11am.
© Photo: Getty ImagesWilliam and Kate tend to wait a few hours before announcing the birth
The Queen is one of the first people to know when a new member of her family has arrived. When Prince George was born in 2013, William had the duty of calling his grandmother on a specially encrypted phone to tell her the happy news. Then he called Kate's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, in Bucklebury, her sister Pippa and brother James, his own father Prince Charles and his brother Prince Harry. The same process was likely followed when Princess Charlotte was born in 2015.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesGeorge pictured in 2015 visiting his baby sister Charlotte in hospital
When George was born, William and Kate waited one day before leaving the hospital. But as Princess Charlotte was delivered relatively quickly, the couple left the Lindo Wing in the late afternoon, just hours after Kate had given birth. Fans can expect George and Charlotte to pay a visit to the hospital to meet their new sibling later on Monday; when Charlotte was born, her big brother George was one of the first to meet her in hospital.
