The Future King is Born!

The Duchess of Cambridge after announcing her pregnancy

As, hopefully, you will know, Katherine the Duchess of Cambridge has finally given birth. Before I get on with my usual annoying waffle and side comments aimed at pretty much everybody, I think it's only fair that you know the facts. Nevertheless, I am honestly very excited by this news, and I was told it by the best possible person - my fantastic Nan. Anyway. Facts: The baby boy was born at 4.24pm and weighed 8lbs 6oz. Right, important bit over, now for my ridiculously enthusiastic nonsense.

It's the moment the majority of the country has been waiting for... Kate to finally pop the future monarch out to greet us, and by the size of her pre-pregnancy stomach, I wouldn't have been surprised if we had found the lost tribes of Israel up there as well. The debates on whether the baby would be a boy or a girl can finally end , but have given way to debates on potential names, the bets placed on the birth weight of baby Windsor have now been cashed, with the money re-placed on bets on certain aspects of the child's appearance, and royalists all over the country can break open the wine they've been saving since the marriage of Kate and Wills. Perhaps you're not one of these people, and honestly are slightly too hot and tired to care that 'some woman somewhere has popped one out', as a woman on the bus very eloquently put it. Perhaps you're one of these people who honestly don't see what exactly the royal family do for us as a country, and so who cares who the baby is? And if I'm honest I can see your point.

But look at the counter-argument: for years the country has relied on the monarchy as the figurehead for the whole of Britain, as something that simply underpins what it means to be British. They bring in ridiculous amounts of money in tourism, and were the original Kardashians: everybody wanted to know what happened in their lives. Or maybe this new King-in-waiting signifies the years to come for you, and will become a very poignant symbol of the inevitable changes the country will experience throughout his reign. Who knows?

Overall, most people will agree that the birth of a royal baby is News. Not 'news' with a lowercase 'n', but News. And who knows, maybe at some point down the line we'll get a day off school because of it?
 So, just a short one today, but I reckoned it would be a pretty bad show if no-one on the H.P blog bothered to write about the pretty important news of a royal baby, and someone's gotta do it!
Until next time, (when there will be a proper article)
E.C

PS: Here are some more baby articles of interest:

What does the future hold for the baby prince?
What is an "average baby"?
10 curious facts on the royal birth
How royal births have been announced in the past

Royal Wedding - One Day to Go

The Royal Wedding is nearly upon us, and the internet and media have been awash with articles and programmes analysing every aspect of it in great detail. Here are a few stories you may have missed.

A researcher has discovered that Prince William is related to a 17th Century member of the Middleton family - a "hard-drinking" Scot who rose through the ranks of the army to become Commander of the Covenanting Forces in Scotland, later switching sides to become Charles II's commissioner to the Scottish Parliament and the governor of Tangier. He was titled the Earl of Middleton for this, but unfortunately his drinking led to his downfall - one night in 1674 he fell downstairs "befuddled with drink" and died from his injuries. He was an ancestor of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who would later become the Queen mother.

Kate will eventually become the Sixth Queen Catherine of England. Here is a guide to the other ones, by Philippa Gregory. Everyone knows about Henry VIII's wives, but the others are also interesting. The first Queen Catherine was Catherine of Valois, wife of Henry V. They were only married a year before his untimely death in 1420 but she had time to conceive a son and heir, Henry VI. She then went on to have 5 children with Owen Tudor, including Edmund and Jasper Tudor. Edmund was the father of Henry Tudor and Jasper was his loyal uncle. Catherine died in 1437 but her coffin was accidentally opened 100 years later and became a strange tourist attraction until she was reburied in Victorian times.

The BBC have provided an impressive site where you can get all the latest wedding news, and there is also an official site you can now download your own programme from Will and Kate.

Enjoy the day, and please let us know if there is anything else worth mentioning on the blog.

PS: If you are bored, you can always try this Wills and Kate wedding game.

Anne Hyde

Nonsuch HP is of course delighted by the news that Prince William and Kate Middleton will get married next year. It has been noted that Kate is the first woman of a non-aristocratic background (or, as The Guardian put it, a "commoner") since Anne Hyde, who married James II in 1660. Her story is certainly very interesting. Anne's father was an adviser to James' brother Charles while the family was in exile during the protectorate. Anne was maid of honour to James' sister, Mary and it is said that James seduced her and was then forced to marry her (possibly in a secret ceremony in 1659, a year earlier than the official marriage). She was described as "plain" by Samuel Pepys, but the French ambassador considered her to have the "courage, cleverness and energy almost worthy of a King's blood." She had 8 children, but only 2 daughters survived past infancy - Mary and Anne, and she died 7 weeks after Anne's birth, aged 33, in 1671. She converted to Catholicism before her death, and probably influenced her husband to eventually do the same. His conversion led to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, when he was replaced by William of Orange, ruling jointly with his wife Mary, Charles and Anne's daughter.