Kate Middleton gives birth to a boy, third in line to British throne

London, Jul 23: The United Kingdom today got one of its new heirs to the throne with the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton giving birth to a boy at St Mary's Hospital here. Prince William's wife Kate Middleton was admitted to the hospital at 6 am after she began to feel labour pangs. Their first child will be third in line to the British throne.The 31-year-old Duchess of Cambridge was driven to the hospital early in the morning without police escort and admitted to the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's hospital. With this ended weeks of speculation about the new heir to British monarchy. Kate, who was accompanied by her husband, was driven to St Mary's Hospital in central London. The couple had spent the weekend at Kensington Palace.The Lindo Wing is where the late Princess Diana gave birth to William, 31, and to his younger brother Harry, 28, who will drop a place in the line of succession after the birth.“Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted this morning to St Mary's hospital, Paddington, London, in the early stages of labour. The duchess travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo wing at St Mary's hospital with the Duke of Cambridge,” Kensington Palace said in a brief statement.The couple had chosen not to know the gender of their first child, who will be third in line to Britain's throne.There has been widespread speculation over the birth of the Queen Elizabeth II's great-grandchild as Kate's exact due date had never been officially announced but expected to be mid-July.The royal baby was delivered by a top medical team headed by the Queen's former gynaecologist Marcus Setchell, who delayed retirement after being asked by William and Kate to oversee the birth.Setchell, 69, was being assisted by Alan Farthing, 50, an expert in keyhole surgery who succeeded him as surgeon/gynaecologist to the Queen in 2008.The world's press have been camping outside St Mary's for days in anticipation of the birth. Bored journalists had dubbed their vigil outside the hospital as “the Great Kate Wait”.A royal aide left the main entrance of the Lindo wing bearing a typed medical bulletin signed by doctors at birth. The aide took the bulletin to Buckingham Palace by car with police outriders. The announcement of the gender and other details of the baby was made by the age-old custom of placing a proclamation on a dark wooden frame on an ornate easel behind the railings on Buckingham Palace's forecourt.The brief bulletin, on palace-headed foolscap paper, usually confirms the sex of the baby and the weight, but gives few other details.The easel will be the same one used to announce William's birth in 1982.The newest royal will be styled HRH Prince/Princess (name) of Cambridge.Had the new offspring been a girl, the child would have made make history, becoming the first female firstborn of a future monarch to take precedence over a younger brother.Fountains and key landmarks are expected to be illuminated and the news of the royal birth will be broadcast on a giant screen above central London.The Greater London Authority has ordered the fountains of Trafalgar Square to be lit in pink or blue, depending on the gender of the newborn.The London Eye is also expected to be illuminated - this time in patriotic red, white and blue - while a 62-gun salute will be fired at the Tower of London.10 royal baby traditions to know