A beaming Prince William and his wife, Kate, emerged from a
London hospital on Tuesday with their newborn baby boy, presenting the world
with a first glimpse of the prince who is third in line to the British throne.
A smiling Kate, wearing a baby blue polka dot dress, carried
the future monarch outside St. Mary's Hospital in central London so that he
could be photographed by the dozens of international press members waiting
outside.
The photos are likely to be reprinted for decades as the
baby grows into adulthood and his role as a future king. His name has not yet
been announced; that's expected in the next few days.
Fans sing
"He's a jolly good fellow" for future King of England..Kate, who said she felt "very emotional," passed
the baby to her husband, who appeared relaxed and joked with reporters.
"He's got her looks, thankfully," William said.
"He's got a good pair of lungs on him, that's for sure."
"He's got way more than me, thank God," he said.
The couple re-entered the hospital to place the child in a
car seat before re-emerging to get into an SUV. William drove the couple away -
palace officials said they will head to an apartment in Kensington Palace from
the hospital.
The young family's first public appearance together has been
the moment that the world's media and crowds of onlookers camped outside the
hospital had long been waiting for. It recalls a similar appearance three
decades ago, when Princess Diana and Prince Charles carried the newborn William
out to pose for photographs on the same steps in 1982.
Earlier, grandparents Prince Charles, his wife, Camilla, and
Michael and Carole Middleton - Kate's parents - were the first relatives to
visit the young family at the hospital.
Charles called the baby "marvelous," while a
beaming Carole Middleton described the infant as "absolutely
beautiful."
The couple's Kensington Palace office said Kate, the Duchess
of Cambridge, gave birth to the 8 pound, 6 ounce (3.8 kilogram) baby boy at
4:24 p.m. Monday.
The news was greeted with shrieks of joy and excited
applause by hundreds of Britons and tourists gathered outside the hospital and Buckingham
Palace.
Revelers staged impromptu parties at both locations, and
large crowds crushed against the palace gates to try to catch a glimpse - and a
photograph - of the golden easel placed there to formally announce the birth.
Hundreds were still lining up outside the palace gates Tuesday to get near the
ornate easel.
In London, gun salutes were fired, celebratory lights came
on, and bells chimed at Westminster Abbey, where William and Kate wed in a
lavish ceremony that drew millions of television viewers worldwide.
