Royal Baby

Overview

The Royal Baby is a nickname given to the newborn of Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton^[1] and Prince William.^[2] As her due date approached in July 2013, people across social media sites began anticipating the birth with several related hashtags and live streaming feeds of the hospital’s entrance. At 4:24 p.m. (GMT) on July 22nd, Middleton gave birth to a baby boy.

Background

In September 2012, rumors about Kate Middleton’s pregnancy began circulating online after she reportedly chose a nonalcoholic drink while attending a state banquet dinner in Singapore.^[3] On December 3rd, 2012, Middleton’s pregnancy was officially confirmed^[4] by the Buckingham Palace after she was admitted to the hospital with severe form of morning sickness known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum.^[5]

Notable Developments

Name & Birthdate Betting

Following the announcement of Middleton’s pregnancy in December 2012, online betting on the baby’s name, weight and godparents began on Paddy Power.^[30] On the first day, Mary and John were the top-voted names for each gender.^[31] By late June, additional pools had been created to include the baby’s hair color and hour of birth,^[32] and by July 13th, Paddy Power reported that more than £300,000 ($500,000 USD) of bets relating to the baby had been placed. Later that week, William Hill estimated the value of the betting pool to be more than £20,000 ($30,728 USD)^[33] while Coral reported £995,000 ($1.53 million USD).^[34] Around the same time, representatives from betting companies began showing up outside St. Mary’s hospital with chalkboards and printed signs (shown below) to update spectators and reporters on that day’s stakes. In the hours after Middleton went into labor on July 22nd, Ladbrokes reported that more than 50,000 new bets were placed.^[35]

Middleton Goes into Labor

On July 22nd, 2013, London-based photographer Jesel Parshotam tweeted^[6] that Middleton had arrived at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital^[7] in Paddington, London. He and colleague Darren Sacks were camped out at the back entrance of the wing when a BMW pulled up. They chose not to photograph the duchess’ arrival^[8] out of respect and instead chose to tweet the information. Approximately two hours later, Kensington Palace issued an official confirmation that she had gone into labor.

Kate Middleton has gone into hospital… #royal #worldexclusive IkonPictures</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23LindoWing&src=hash">#LindoWing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23RoyalBaby&src=hash">#RoyalBaby</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23RoyalBabyWatch&src=hash">#RoyalBabyWatch</a></p>— Jesal Parshotam (therealjesal) July 22, 2013

Online Reactions

On July 22nd, a number of hashtags relating to Middleton and her baby trended on Twitter including #GreatKateWait^[13] (shown below, left), #RoyalBabyWatch^[14] (shown below, right), #LindoWing^[15] and #RoyalBaby.^[16] A handful of news sites highlighted the Twitter response to the baby’s birth including Fox News Insider^[17], the Huffington Post Canada^[18] and CTV News.^[19] Men’s blog EveryJoe^[20] featured a collection of 19 tweets from people unimpressed by the media blitz surrounding the birth. Additionally, The Huffington Post^[21], USA Today^[22] and Business Insider^[23] among others compiled celebrity reactions to the baby from Twitter including Jersey Shore‘s Nicole Polizzi, Perez Hilton and CNN’s Piers Morgan.

At 4:24 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time, Middleton gave birth to a baby boy. According to an official announcement, the baby weight 8 pounds and 7 ounces. The birth was announced by an email press release and is third in line for the British throne, behind his father and grandfather, Prince Charles.^[9] After the birth, the hashtag #itsaboy^[10] trended on Twitter. The Onion shared a handful of satirical “first photos” of the baby^[11]^[12], depicting him as a horned, winged demon.

Live News Coverage

After Middleton went into labor, a number of news sites and gossip blogs offered live updates from the hospital including Sky News^[24], Hollywood Life^[25], ABC News^[26], Hello!^[27], the Daily Beast^[28], The Telegraph^[29] and fashion blog What Kate Wore.^[29]