THE Duchess of Cambridge's labour is progressing "well" after being admitted to St Mary’s Hospital in London early this morning.
A spokesman for the royal couple said: “Things are progressing as normal.”
She travelled by car from Kensington Palace, where she has been staying since Friday, to the Lindo Wing of the hospital with the Duke of Cambridge.
Wait over ... Kate and Wills arrived at the hospital in the early hours of this morning
Pregnant ... The Duchess of Cambridge attends a Garden Party in the grounds of Buckingham Palace
The 31-year-old is thought to have gone into labour naturally, roughly a week after her due-date.
She is being tended to by a top medical team led by the Queen’s former gynaecologist Marcus Setchell, who delivered the Countess of Wessex’s two children. Assisting him is Alan Farthing, the Queen’s current gynaecologist.
The Queen is at Windsor Castle today and is being kept informed about Kate's condition. She is due back at Buckingham Palace later this afternoon.
Twitter ... baby will be the first heir to be announced on the social media site
The news was announced in a brief statement from Kensington Palace at 7.30am after rumours she had been spotted began circulating.
The statement read: “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.”
Outside ... Lindo Wing
National
Media ... the world has been waiting since the beginning of the month
Terry Hutt ... has camped outside for days
She is thought to have entered the hospital via a side entrance at around 5.30am.
Prime Minister David Cameron said today it was a "very exciting occasion" and whole country is "hoping for the best".
William, who has been on annual leave for a week, is following in his father’s footsteps in being present at the birth.
He will take the standard two weeks' paternity leave from the RAF once the baby is born.
Inside ... the Lindo Wing
Imperial Private Healthcare
When the baby is born, a palace aide will leave the hospital with a foolscap piece of paper with the Buckingham Palace letterhead and signed by the medical team.
It will then be driven under police escort to the Palace, where it will be placed on an easel in the Palace forecourt.
The baby's birth will be marked by a 41-gun salute in Green Park and a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.
Announcement ... birth of Prince William on June 21, 1982
Getty
Kensington Palace is trying to maintain as much tradition as possible in the announcement of the birth.
It will only be declared once the Queen and other senior members of the Royal Family, along with the Middleton family, have been informed.
The world’s press have been camped outside St Mary’s in Paddington since the beginning of the month in anticipation of the birth - so the news will travel very quickly.
The Duke and his younger brother Prince Harry were born in the Lindo Wing and the Prince and Princess of Wales famously posed on the building’s steps in 1982 holding baby William in turn.
Baby William ... Princess Diana and Prince Charles leave St. Mary's hospital on June 22, 1982
Betting on the name of the royal baby, which will be third-in-line to the throne, has produced one favourite with a number of bookies - Alexandra.
Kate ... hopes for a boy
Many punters believe William and Kate will have a girl and have put their money on the name.
Other monikers that have attracted royal fans include Charlotte, Diana, Elizabeth and Victoria, with George and James picked by those who think the new baby will be a boy.
Mother-to-be ... The Duchess of Cambridge leaves The Willows Primary School
William will take paternity leave from his job as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot.
But it is not known how long the Duchess will take off from her royal duties to care for her first child.
Surprise ... boy or girl?
The new royal baby will be the Queen’s third great-grandchild and is destined to be crowned monarch.
It will be the 43rd sovereign since William the Conqueror if, as expected, it follows reigns by Charles then William.
Fashion ... the Duchess wore a mixture of designer and highstreet maternity dresses
The Duke is known to want a daughter while the Duchess is hoping for a son.
When Kate met Guardsman Lee Wheeler, 29, during a a St Patrick’s Day parade in Aldershot, Hampshire, she told him she did not know the sex of her baby.
Nearly there ... the wait is almost over
The soldier said: “I asked her ’Do you know if it’s a girl or boy?’, and she said ’Not yet’.
“She said ’I’d like to have a boy and William would like a girl’. That’s always the way.”
Fairytale ... Kate and Wills on their wedding day
Arthur Edwards / The Sun
Recent changes to the rules of succession mean if a girl is born she will not be leapfrogged by a younger brother at a later date.
The sex of an infant in direct line to the throne no longer determines whether he or she wears the crown.
Fairytale ... the baby will bring huge joy to the country
Confirmation that the Duchess is in hospital also means the nation is aware that Kate is in labour.
This is something that would have been unthinkable when the last granddaughter-in-law of a reigning queen to give birth to a future monarch did so in the 1890s.
George V’s wife Mary of Teck, who was then the Duchess of York, had the future Edward VIII in 1894 and the future George VI in 1895, but news of her ’confinement’ was limited.
Official sign ... outside Buckingham Palace
Getty
Dr Rowbotham, a social historian at Nottingham Trent University, said: “Pregnancy was not something that was publicly talked about then. It wasn’t discussed. It was indelicate."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/5027476/duchess-of-cambridge-admitted-to-hospital-in-early-stages-of-labour.html#ixzz2ZmTVsDr3
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