It's a boy

Today, in London, July 22th of 2013, thousands of Britons broke into song and dance outside the palace gates. Officials announced that the future king was born at 4:24 p.m., weighing 3.75 kilograms, at central London's St. Mary's Hospital. He was the Prince William and Kate Middleton’s son.

The royal tradition keep a terse statement that announced only the time of birth, the infant's gender and that mother and child were doing well. It gave no information about the baby's name.

"Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well and will remain in hospital overnight," it said. William also issued a brief statement, saying "we could not be happier."

Kingdom’s press aides had talked about preserving Kate Middleton's "dignity" throughout the pregnancy. The way the birth was handled showed that the palace's impressive stagecraft could give the royals a bubble of privacy even in the age of Twitter and 24-hour news broadcasts.

Just before 6 a.m., Kate Middleton entered the hospital through a side door, avoiding the mass of journalists camped outside. Officials did not announce she was hospitalized until more than an hour later.

Later, as the world media gathered outside filled hours of airtime with speculation, the baby's birth went unannounced for nearly four hours, allowing the royal couple the private time they needed to act like a regular family..

A car carrying the announcement drove from the hospital to the palace, where the news was greeted with shrieks of "It's a boy!". A large crowd rushed against the palace fences to catch a glimpse of an ornate, gilded easel displaying a small bulletin formally announcing the news.

The framed sheet of paper became the target of a thousand cameras.