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William in Blue and Kate in Buttercup Yellow to Take Home HRH, Princess of Cambridge

With throngs of well-wishers crowded at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital, Kate, William, and the newest royal, the Princess of Cambridge, met the media and the public.James Higgins / Splash News

For those who weren’t able to follow the live blog, we’ll do a quick recap of things, beginning with word from Kensington Palace that the Duchess had been admitted to the hospital at 6am London time, 1am EDT.

Kensington Palace Twitter

Kensington Palace Twitter

Media and the public started descending on the Lindow Wing.More from Gordon Rayner’s story in the Daily Telegraph:

In a virtual re-run of her hospital admission in July 2013, the Duchess, in a silver Mercedes estate car (Range Rovers and Jaguars are the usual royal vehicles), arrived at 6am, just 15 minutes later in the morning than she had done with Prince George, and slipped unseen into the aptly-named Cambridge Entrance.

Many media had been at the hospital all week, if not longer.

Roya Nikkah Twitter Feed (@RoyaNikkah)

Roya Nikkah Twitter Feed (@RoyaNikkah)

Less than three hours later came word (again via the Kensington Palace Twitter account) that Kate and William were the parents of a baby girl.

Kensington Palace Twitter (@KensingtonRoyal)

Kensington Palace Twitter (@KensingtonRoyal)

Prince William was said to be with the Duchess when the Princess was born. As the day wore on more media came to the hospital, international interest in the event was extremely high.Ben Stevens/i-Images Picture Agency

Back to Gordon Rayner’s story:

In another perfect piece of stage management, the Queen, who had surely travelled with several alternative outfits, appeared at Richmond Castle wearing pink from head to toe, and beaming with pleasure at her fifth great-grandchild.

 John Giles/PA

Midday Prince William went to Kensington Palace to pick up Prince George, bringing him to the Lindo Wing to meet his new sister.Ben Stevens / i-Images

The young man and his father were color-coordinated, perhaps steeling themselves for the wave of pink they are about to encounter.Splash News

At some points, George looked a little disconcerted.i-Images/Splash News/i-Images

At other times he seemed very comfortable in his father’s arms, even displaying his royal wave technique.Robin Nunn/Nunn Syndication/Polaris

After visiting for about an hour George returned home to Kensington Palace.

The Duchess was only in the hospital 12 hours (actually a bit less), and it was just about 10 hours after she gave birth that she emerged on the iconic Lindo Wing steps with her husband; it was time to introduce HRH, the Princess of Cambridge.Robin Nunn/Nunn Syndication/Polaris

The new parents couldn’t have looked any happier.Stephen Lock / i-Images / Polaris

From Victoria Murphy’s story in The Mirror:

Wrapped in a white shawl and wearing a cream bonnet, the fourth in line to the throne slept soundly through the screams and camera flashes that greeted her public debut less than 10 hours after she was born.

Kate looked flawless in a cream and yellow floral Jenny Packham dress as she cradled her baby daughter outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, central London.

Jack Taylor / i-Images

It was a chilly day in London, with a brisk wind at times, but that didn’t seem to bother the Duke or Duchess.

Rebecca English, The Daily Mail

Rebecca English, The Daily Mail

Elated might be an understatement.Ben Stevens/i-Images

Both parents were beaming.Ben Stevens i-Images

From a story in The Express:

Asked how the day had gone, the Prince grinned and replied “very well”.

He seemed every bit the proud papa.Ben Stevens / i-Images

While Kate was radiant.m

The news covered the front pages of many Sunday papers.Princess Kate Royal Baby Front Pages

A few more headlines. (To see all of the paper’s front pages, visit this BBC page.)via Nick Twitter

Kensington Palace used social media to offer a formal “welcome” the little girl.Kensington Palace

The British Monarchy social media accounts remained active throughout the day and into the evening. This is from the Monarchy’s Facebook page.

The British Monarcy

The British Monarchy

The public was asked to contribute to the celebration.

If you are welcoming any new additions to your family today we would love to hear from you. Post a picture to our Twitter account @KensingtonRoyal (www.twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal) or our Instagram at KensingtonRoyal (www.instagram.com/KensingtonRoyal), using our hashtag #WelcomeToTheFamily and we could include your post in our social media blog on Storify!

Below, Belfast City Hall, shared by Lynette Robinson on Twitter.

Lynnette Robinson Twitter ( @bubbles_84LR)

Lynette Robinson Twitter ( @bubbles_84LR)

On to what Kate wore as she met the media and then headed home from the hospital.Stephen Lock / i-Images

Kate wore a bespoke Jenny Packham “silk shift dress with buttercup print,” as described by the designer on Twitter.Stepher Lock/i-Images/

The knee-length dress had a soft yellow floral motif. I am perplexed as to an appropriate descriptor: I don’t think it would properly be called dégradé, nor does ombré seem quite right, and I don’t think it is what we call a ‘placed print’. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than I can help us out with the proper term. UPDATE: With appreciation for your comments, emails and messages, it is properly called a border print!

The dress had three-quarter length sleeves, darts at the bust and it was fully lined. It didn’t look as though it zipped up the back, it’s possible the dress had a side zipper.p

Some of us wondered if we might see the rumored pink polka dot Jenny Packham dress the Duchess would have worn in July 2013 if she had given birth to a girl. It was said to be a mirror image of this frock, only in pink.

 

Kate was in her Jimmy Choo Gilbert heels.,

The almond toe pumps are sold out in Kate’s nude almost everywhere I have checked, including Jimmy Choo. Luisa Via Roma shows what I believe is the nude color in a few sizes. Kate also wore her Kiki McDonough diamond hoops with Annoushka’s pearl drops.Kiki McDonough/Annoushka

And for anyone wondering, the newest Princess of Cambridge went home wrapped in a GH Hurt & Son piece, just like her older brother.Ben Stevens/i-Images

It is the company’s Soft Wool Baby Shawl.G.H. Hurt & Son

Seeing the reaction to the arrival of the Princess of Cambridge brought back memories of a classic line from Gone With the Wind, when Melanie tells Mammy, “The happiest days are when babies come.”Ben Stevens / i-Images

It looks like we might hear the baby’s name as early as tomorrow (Sunday, May 3). I will continue to add photos and links throughout the evening.

To read all about what Prince George wore to meet his new sister, click here for our What Kate’s Kids Wore site, it will be absorbing What Prince George Wore in the next few weeks. (And please bear with us, WKKW is still not complete in terms of design, layout, etc.)

Some may recall that a number of the major news outlets have created hub pages, laden with links, stories, photos, and more. Here is a listing of those pages.

Special pages that have been created for the event:

For a complete list of sources, twitter accounts, and other links, visit our One Stop Guide to Following the Royal Birth Online.

LINKAGE:

 

 

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Pr. Charlotte

Wednesday 6th of May 2015

Is Princess Charlotte bonnet hat from headcakes?

Lavender

Tuesday 5th of May 2015

I love this summery print, it's very similar to 60s/early 70s prints - yes, everything comes back once a generation has grown old enough for their offspring to think a current trend is "New"! It has an Easter feel and may have been chosen as her due date was around that period. At first, I thought she was wearing a shrug (if Americans call them something different to we Brits, I mean a very short cardigan with any length sleeve, knitted of wool/acrylic or any material that is made into lace). I then wondered if this was the 'white' dress worn with the Dalmation Mac worn at a ship launch & again with a check yellow coat at a formal event, both towards the end of her last pregnancy. It seems to have too much print at the bottom to be this dress though? The dress would be nice with the 'border' print at the bottom with the buttercups graduating upwards as well. Lots of posts refer to Kate as wearing nylons, surely not, silk hose surely??? I can confirm that many UK Mums leave hospital the same day of delivery. The trend started around 30yrs ago. A paediatrician always examines a baby to discharge him/her. Then & now, a midwife or Doctor attends every morning for 14days; after that a Health Visitor (a Nurse who has done further qualifying study) calls a few times to check/advise, though will call more often if there is a family problem or health issues with the baby. The best thing is that the same care is available to everyone, whether that be someone on benefits or Kate herself. Kate went 'private' but that was her choice and by far the most practical. And yes, even I smiled when I saw the Mail on Sunday cover - she certainly did look radiant and I have a suspicion that like most Mothers, she yearned for a baby girl. (When asked what we want, we women are supposed to say "Anything, as long as it's healthy" but most really want a girl especially when you think of the future - and yes, Dads really want a boy).

Faith

Tuesday 5th of May 2015

I think I would have liked this dress better with the border print at the bottom graduating upwards. As it is, it has an unfinished sleepwear look to me.

Camilla Jilderup

Tuesday 5th of May 2015

Her dress looked very summery!

lawmomnyc

Monday 4th of May 2015

I'm a heels girl myself, but I wish she'd worn flats. She wears them when she's out and about, if there's a time to wear them it's carrying a newborn with one hand while navigating concrete steps. To me this screamed vanity over practicality.

Diana

Monday 4th of May 2015

Unbelievable how great she looked only 10 hours after giving birth. Better than I look pretty much ever in my life! I really like the dress; it would be nice to see it refit and worn again. Thanks for all your posting over this exciting weekend!

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