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We Don’t Know Much, But This Much We Do Know: Only Time Will Tell

Apologies for the newsroom jargon as blog title, after today’s activities that old saying felt appropriate.

As readers are aware, we have avoided constant posts about Kate’s condition, but today’s mania makes a very brief update seem in order. The frenzy related to goings-on in Bucklebury and London today hit a level making us think we should share a short post.

William and Kate spent most, if not all, of the week at the Middleton home in Bucklebury.  Mid-morning (EDT time) we started seeing multiple reports that a vehicle and/or a vehicle carrying Kate & William left the Middleton’s estate with a police escort.

This was followed by the cautionary note from several reporters that if an increased police presence wasn’t seen at the hospital, it was less-than-likely the Duchess was headed there. Shortly after those Twitter posts, David Brown, a reporter at The Times of London, shared this tweet at 10:29 am:

David Brown, The Times

David Brown, The Times

That info, and other related posts, really sent things into overdrive.

The Crazy-o-Meter was peaking in the red zone about thirty minutes later when there was a flurry of activity right in front of media stationed at the Lindo Wing. Many of those on hand thought Kate & William had actually arrived and were inside the hospital. As some of you already know, this was not the case. Below, a photo from the previously mentioned Mr. Brown of the Times, reveals what was really going on.

David Brown/The Times, Twitter Feed

David Brown/The Times, Twitter Feed

Yes indeedy, more lookalikes, part of a stunt to promote The Sun newspaper.  The online reaction to that? Not pretty. Most of those taken in were incensed, some thought it amusing, others felt any kind of prank at the hospital was inappropriate. (Count me in that last group.)

The information flow across time zones is such that the rumors continue apace this evening. People are just now reading stories online about Kate and William’s “abrupt departure” from Bucklebury. Or stories about Kate being choppered to the hospital (there is no landing pad at the hospital). Just a quick sampling of tweets posted within moments of each other:

  • “Police cars and helicopter arrived to the hospital!”
  • “KATE IS HEADED TO LONDON BY HELICOPTER. I AM BESIDE MYSELF.”
  • “And it begins…Kate Middleton, Prince William leave Bucklebury for London ahead of royal birth”

As far as Kate’s whereabouts, David Brown of The Times posted this late in the day.

David H. Brown, The Times of London (@DavidHBrown)

David Brown, The Times of London (@DavidHBrown)

As the afternoon wore on, calm, or something remotely resembling it, seemed to return. Perhaps Richard Palmer of the Express summed it up best:
Richard Palmer, the Express (@RoyalReporter)

Richard Palmer, the Express (@RoyalReporter)

As far as rumors that Kate may go to a hospital other than St. Mary’s, there is nothing to substantiate them.

More on the situation from The Daily Mail:

How much longer this circus can carry on is another matter. The more overdue the baby, the more desperate things become in ladder land.

The heightened anxiety isn’t limited to the media crews at St. Mary’s Hospital, where Kate is expected to deliver the baby. The following is via the Washington Post:

LONDON — During a cabinet meeting Thursday at Chequers, the country retreat of elected British leaders, an aide stepped in with a note for Prime Minister David Cameron. A hush quickly fell over the room.“Everyone, of course, thought it was the announcement about the royal baby,” Cameron told the BBC, “and there was a great intake of breath.” In the end, the deflated ministers exhaled. It was nothing more than a cricket score.

For those interested in watching a live feed from the Lindo Wing, here are links to some of the options. One note: it is most unlikely Kate is going to walk in the door seen on these feeds – that is where she will exit. This is merely where the media are staged, I believe there are more than 10 entrances to the hospital.

Back to the WaPo story:

Meanwhile, outside Limbo Wing, a new normal is taking shape. Everyone from French toy companies to British betting houses are tapping the captive audience of bored journalists for a spot of free publicity. “They’re trying anything,” said John Harrison, the sound guy at NBC who has been camped out for 21 days in a rare English heat wave. “We’ve had three men who come down and danced in baby heads.

In other words: watch the feed at your own risk. (Insert smile.)

As of this writing (6:15pm EDT Friday, July 19) my best guess is that Kate and William have returned to Kensington Palace. Because of the extraordinary volume of inaccurate information online this post was merely an effort to help those looking to sort through the fact and fiction as to what transpired throughout the day. For those on Facebook I am updating the page throughout the day, as well as tweeting when appropriate.

 

 

 

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Anne

Friday 20th of September 2013

Love your headline!

ElizaMo

Monday 22nd of July 2013

Thanks so much for another astute post - a welcome oasis of normality amid a media pantomime.

melissa

Monday 22nd of July 2013

Kate is in labor!! the little one will be here soon God bless them both.

Laura

Saturday 20th of July 2013

Thank you for the update. As much as I look forward to news of the royal baby I have no interest in sorting through all the madness online, so I appreciate such a clear summary of what has actually happened. I'm sure that despite all the media the only picture we will see is a faint glimpse of Kate's back as she is rushed through the door surrounded by cops and her protective husband. If they even go through the door where all the cameras are! Thanks for the clear headed summary as well as the level of respect for the parents to be.

Lili

Saturday 20th of July 2013

Madness, really. I almost feel it just that the media were taken in by the lookalikes and reports. If you think it's really necessary to camp out, for days or weeks, in front of a door the parents-to-be are not even going to enter, you deserve what you get.

I have been occasionally checking the Telegraph's live feed, not because I expect to see the Cambridges, but because it's so sociologically interesting. I've enjoyed seeing what the British are wearing in the heat and watching tourists pose for pictures in front of the Lindo Wing's entrance. The other day, a young woman used the Telegraph's camera to rant about Page 3 girls, and yesterday when I tuned in, someone appeared to be having a seizure right in the street. I watched paramedics treat him before loading him into an ambulance. You can sometimes overhear conversations between the reporters and photographers. I've listened to discussions in French and in what were unmistakably Australian accents.

It's all rather fascinating, as is the media frenzy in general. A sociologist really could have a field day with this event. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two were working on it.

Nancy Robertson

Saturday 20th of July 2013

Lili, I too have been checking the live feed in front of the Lindo Wing from time to time, and I agree with you that it can be addictive.

You never know what will turn up. A few days ago, I saw a middle aged English gentleman holding up a series of posters on which he'd written a hand lettered poem in large black letters about waiting for Kate.

Yesterday, I just happened to catch a lovely looking "Kate" leaving through the front door, surrounded by photographers, and getting into her chauffeured black car. I had no idea she was just a look-a-like and couldn't believe my eyes.

I also enjoy seeing tourists and ordinary Londoners walking down the street carrying backpacks and talking into their cell phones. I'm even thrilled by the pigeons crossing the road.

I'm really going to miss the live feed after Baby Cambridge arrives. For an American like me, it's a fascinating view of life across the pond. I wish there were a permanent live feed from interesting places around the city -- Knightsbridge, High Street, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace.

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