Last royal post, I promise.
The guessing game is finally over: it’s a boy (those wanting a girl are now, according to Twitter, hoping he might be gay); they left the Lindo Wing with a tiny wave; and He Who Had No Name is called George.
Named after my first cat, I believe.
(Despite sounding like a stripper, Royal Baby will stick in my mind for quite a while longer, though).
But if there’s something we don’t have to guess, it’s that his upbringing will be nothing like that experienced by the garden-variety of child.
Below is my compare-and-contrast with the hoi polloi, and, out of interest, what previous royal generations did …
MEETING THE FAMILY
Circles household: Immensely grateful that DH made it to Son2’s surgical birth (on an overnight flight) with five minutes to spare.
HH: Wills was in attendance the whole time and the royal grandparents were helicoptered in for an unscheduled flying visit.
Previously: Prince Charles was the first dad to see his heir arrive; before that, multiple officials were present and births took place in royal residences, not hospitals.
HIS CRYNESS, ALL.NIGHT.LONG
Circles household: Schlepped into our nursery room in a fug of tiredness, eyes clamped half shut; often still on the floor in the morning.
HH: What prosperous parent doesn’t employ a maternity nurse these days?
Previously: Believing breastfeeding was the ‘ruin’ of refined ladies, Queen Victoria handed all nine of her children over to a wet nurse.
FIRST PAD(S)
Circles household: A modest two-bedroom home in Minneapolis.
HH: Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, although why this is called an apartment is BEYOND me. It’s a four-story, 20-room property. There will also be a 10-bed country mansion in Norfolk.
Previously: Prince Charles lived in Buckingham Palace’s remote nursery, cared for by nannies, governesses and footmen, and only seeing his parents at designated times.
HIGH TEA WITH FRIENDS
Circles household: Decamped to friends’ homes whenever it felt like the walls were closing in on me.
HH: No shortage of mates with estates and big digs for little George to visit.
Previously: While growing up, the Queen didn’t get to meet ordinary folk under ordinary circumstances, only leaving the palace under carefully controlled conditions.
ON RAINY DAYS
Circles household: Braved the germ-ridden, windowless hellholes that are soft-play areas.
HH: Chelsea’s Purple Dragon, where there’s a pristine indoor play centre, pool, recording studio, etc, and the clocks on the wall tell the time in Narnia, the Shire and Neverland, is surely in his future.
Previously: At a guess, wellington boot activities were popular.
FEASTS FIT FOR A KING
Circles household: Had good intentions, but resorted to jars, followed by fish fingers, all too often cooked with my coat on after rushing home.
HH: Any fish fingers eaten are more likely to be made of salmon and coated in gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Previously: Wills and Harry were weaned on organic purees, prepared by Princess Diana’s chef.
EARLY LEARNING
Circles household: Put Son1 in a US daycare centre teeming with snotty children and hoped for the best.
HH: A likely contender is Chelsea Pre-Prep and Nursery, which offers ballet, French and animal care among its extracurricular activities.
Previously: Queen Elizabeth was home schooled for her entire education.
AIR MILES
Circles household: These, we have clocked up a few of.
HH: I don’t see those ski holidays and island-hopping trips stopping, do you?
Previously: As a toddler, Prince Charles’ parents often went on official overseas trips, sometimes lasting months and, as was custom, left him behind. (Keeping routines intact, people – or had they discovered the joys of child-free travel?)
I wish the new royal family all the very best, I really do. They honestly seem like a jolly nice couple.
I agree with you that they seem like a lovely couple. I thought it was great that they took the baby home in the car – dad driving, mum in the back with the baby (I’ll just gloss over the fact that they had a protection officer in the car too. 🙂 ) just like many other families.
I loved how she gingerly handed the baby over to William. Reckon he must have practised getting the car seat in, as he was pretty slick!
Yes, I think you are right – he must have put in hours of practice! 🙂
Well what do you expect when you have 2 heirs to the royal throne in one car ??!! Not sure how else they would of left the hospital – helicopter ??
They could have been driven away by ‘official’ type people/chauffeur. The protection officer could have driven – I just thought it great that William drove them.
Struck me too that William drove – somehow I wasn’t expecting him to!
Just 30 mins before was the first time in a hundred years or something that there were 3 heirs in the same room! I reckon they won’t all be allowed to travel in the same car or airplane together.
Oh, good point. I hadn’t thought of that.