There’s no doubt that the Duke and Duchess would have wanted her support as they introduced their boy to the world last night.
So it’s no surprise that many saw Kate’s polka dot Jenny Packham dress as a subtle tribute to Princess Diana who wore a green spotted outfit as she left the same hospital with Prince William in 1982.
But the comparisons ended there.
Diana chose to cover up her figure in the billowing dress with a large collar.
Kate on the other hand stepped out of the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s proudly showing off her bump in the simple empire-line shift.
And while Kate was a picture of calm, Diana reportedly burst into tears as they drove away from the hospital.
Indeed last night’s scenes seemed to be much more relaxed compared with 1982.
Marking the formality of the occasion, Prince Charles wore a shirt and tie and buttoned-up jacket.
Yesterday his son cut a much more relaxed figure in a smart blue and white pinstripe shirt which he wore unbuttoned at the neck and with his sleeves rolled up to the elbow.
Kate, holding the baby close to her wrapped in a white blanket, looked radiant as she posed with William for the historic shot.
As one of the most scrutinised women in the world – and at this most high profile of moments with all the world watching – Kate would have laboured (no pun intended) over her outfit choice today.
In the event, she chose the crepe de chine polka dot dress by Jenny Packham – a designer she has turned to on multiple occasions for public events – which was made bespoke for her.
The cornflower blue was a nod, no doubt, to her baby’s gender – the same gesture made by her mother during her own visit earlier in the day.
Kate cradled the baby as she stood alongside William, her husband wrapping a protective arm around her waist before taking the infant into his own arms.
‘We’re still working on a name,’ William told the assembled Press, adding it had been ‘very emotional’.
‘He’s got her looks,’ he joked, as the Duchess shook her head, smiling, saying ‘I’m not sure about that.’
The duke alluded to the fact that the new parents had been kept up by their newborn on their first night, saying, ‘he’s got a good pair of lungs on him that’s for sure.
‘He’s a big boy, he’s quite heavy,’ he added.
We’re still working on a name so we’ll have that as soon as we can, but it’s the first time we’ve seen him really, so we’re having a proper chance to catch up.’
Kate said the experience had been ‘very emotional.
‘It’s such a special time, I think any parent can probably understand what that feeling feels like.’
The Duke of Cambridge added: ‘It’s very special.’
He joked he would tease his son for arriving late.
‘I’ll remind him of his tardiness when he’s older – I know you guys have been out here a long time,’ he said. ‘Hopefully the hospital and you guys can get back to normal and we can go and look after him.’
Showing the sense of humour that has endeared the two to the world, William poked fun at his thinning hairline, saying: “He’s got way more than me, thank God.’
The two then disappeared back into the Lindo Wing to strap their baby into the car seat before they got into their waiting Range Rover to head to the Palace.
William drove his wife and baby away from the hospital – William drawing his hand across his brow in a sign of mock relief at successfully attaching the car seat into the back of the car as the world’s media watched.
The Palace confirmed the duke had indeed been practicing installing the car seat so that he could make a smooth getaway.
Kate’s glamorous appearance was not thanks not only to the glow of new motherhood, of course – though there’s no doubt that played a large part.
The duchess’s bouncy blowdry was the work of her hairstylist Amanda Cook Taylor, the Royal hairdresser who accompanied the Duke and Duchess on their Far Eastern trip in September last year.
The emotional scene that echoed William’s own departure from the same hospital when he was held in the arms of first Charles and then Diana when they departed from St Mary’s in 1982.
This time though it played out in a far more relaxed fashion.
Popular: Kate and William received thousands of messages of goodwill from around the world, and crowds cheered from outside the hospital and at Kensington Palace where they had gathered to await the couple
Then, Diana – who also wore a polka dot dress for her first appearance post-birth – was said to be utterly overawed by the moment and, as soon as the car pulled away and she disappeared from view, burst into tears.
Royal watchers speculated that composed Kate’s reaction will be a lot more measured – and, indeed, it was. She looked relaxed and happy – if a touch tired – after her first night as a mother.
The Palace confirmed that Kate was doing well following the birth of her 8lb 6oz son at just before half past four yesterday afternoon.
But while this was an incredibly exciting moment for the hordes outside the hospital, some of whom had been waiting day and night outside for up to a month, there was to be no neat conclusion to the saga of the Royal birth.
William told waiting reporters that the final cherry on the cake – our future King’s name – was not to be revealed tonight.
For that we will have to wait. How long is unknown. When Prince William was born, the public had to wait seven days before his name was announced.
Prince Harry’s was announced within 24 hours, while the Queen let the public wait an agonising month before she announced Charles’ name in 1948.
The Queen said at a Buckingham Palace reception today that she is ‘thrilled’ at the birth of her great-grandson.
First visitors: Carole Middleton and Michael Middleton at St Mary’s Hospital at around 3pm today
HOW THE OTHER ROYAL BABIES MET THE WORLD: A look at the moment William, Harry and the rest of the Royals posed outside the hospital
- Prince Charles was the first royal to insist his children were born hospital
- Previously royal babies born in palaces, unless there were medical issues
- Charles was also the first royal male to be present at the birth
- Today it is expected that Prince William and Kate will leave St Mary’s hospital
William is following in the trailblazing footsteps of his father when it comes to the birth of his first child.
Charles broke with the long standing tradition of royal births being kept both intensely private and totally removed from involvement of the father.
By encouraging Diana to give birth in hospital rather than in one of the royal palaces, and remaining by her side during the birth, Charles set a modern precedent for the family.
Now we see a touching repeat of history as William and Kate introduce their first born son to the waiting media in a similar manner.
While their privacy was carefully protected within the hospital walls, this modern trend for royal hospital births means that the first pictures of new members of the royal family are usually on the front steps as they leave the hospital for the first time.
In contrast, Queen Elizabeth was born at her private family home, 17 Bruton Street in London, and gave birth to her sons Charles, Andrew and Edward in Buckingham Palace and Princess Anne at Clarence House.
Prince Charles broke with the Royal tradition by attending both hospital births of William and Harry.
Previous royal births had happened in the Palaces, with the father not present at the actual delivery.
When Princes Charles himself was born, Prince Phillip was reported off playing squash in the palace, and not by the Queen’s side.
Last night a delighted Charles said: ‘Both my wife and I are overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild. It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy,’ he said.
The clearly overwhelmed prince added: ‘Grandparenthood is a unique moment in anyone’s life, as countless kind people have told me in recent months, so I am enormously proud and happy to be a grandfather for the first time and we are eagerly looking forward to seeing the baby in the near future.’
In its official statement Kensington Palace said : ‘Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm.
‘The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz.
‘The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth.’
Read more: DailyMail
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