Things We Missed in the Frenzy of Princess Charlotte’s Birth

We are back to share a few of the things overlooked in the mayhem of May 2nd when Princess Charlotte was born. The excitement of the day’s events, coupled with Kate’s rapid discharge from the hospital, left us with a few items we weren’t able to cover in that day’s post.

We begin with Prince George’s visit to the Lindo Wing. The young man’s arrival for a visit with his mother and new sister brought some heartwarming images; we saw many photos of William carrying George.

But what we didn’t share was the moment when George decided he needed to be in his father’s arms. Evidently the young Prince was walking on his own when he got out of the car.

But then George decided this was just one of those times when he needed a little pick-me-up from dad.

Another topic not covered fully: the public watching and waiting for a glimpse of the royals. I received a few messages asking where the crowds were this time. Perhaps they weren’t as visible because they were kept a little farther away. (One fun note: look at the street name on the top of the blue sign below.)

But they were there.

Before Charlotte arrived there was debate about the level of interest in this royal baby, with substantial speculation people just weren’t as interested as they had been when the Cambridge’s first child was born. A story in The Telegraph provides data suggesting otherwise:

Twitter recorded more than a million tweets mentioning the birth of the baby princess on Saturday, while “royal baby” was the most searched for term on Google all day.

More than 1.1 million #royalbaby posts were tweeted, compared with only 900,000 on the day George was born two years ago.

However, social media experts were quick to point out that the difference in the number of tweets could be down to the fact that Twitter has more users today than it did in 2013.

This will come as a surprise to no one who followed things online, especially via Twitter.

Meanwhile, Google Trends recorded at least one million searches for the term royal baby – although the true figure is expected to be significantly larger than that.

Related searches such as “Kate Middleton”, “Prince George”, “Duchess of Cambridge”, and “royal baby news” were among the most popular terms searched for.

Before the eagerly anticipated birth, Google reported that almost twice as many people searched for female royal baby terms than male – suggesting the world was expecting or at least hoping for a princess.

This time we had more interest in what Prince William wore, we received several inquiries asking about HRH’s wardrobe, including one inquiring if he was wearing jeans or corduroys. It was the latter, a very fine wale.

William was wearing a belt we have seen previously; it is by Pampeano, a company located northwest of London. The belts are made of Argentinian leather; here is more from Pampeano:

Combining Argentine craftsmanship with British luxury, pampeano houses the finest polo equipment and our eponymous, exquisite, pampeano polo belts.

The colourful belts have evolved, from a variety of tribal patterns and colours, to team colours on the polo pitch and the subsequent wide array of styles for the hips of any judicious fashionista. Therefore they provide not only a unique, colourful statement of quality, but also a flash of Argentine polo history.

Pampeano says William is wearing their Principe style, shown above; obviously the Duke’s is slightly different from this pattern. It appears the Principe is still available, it retails at Pampano for £65.

Whether July of 2013 or May of this year, the couple introduced their new babies to enormous audiences around the world.

One of the things I received the most questions about – what William and Kate were saying to each other while on the steps of the Lindo Wing.

Apparently the Duchess was concerned the baby might be cold. More from a Telegraph story:

“This is nice,” she said to William.

“Lots of people out there. Look up there on the top.”

She then waved upwards to everyone desperate to get a glimpse of her daughter.

Waving, she said to the crowd: “Hello”

In both instances Kate was beaming. (And I am still cropping the Prince out of certain photos.)

One thing we didn’t see with Charlotte’s birth: Prince William holding the baby.

But on both occasions we did see two very, very happy parents.

With Charlotte’s arrival there were no giggles or quick come-backs, no laughs while bantering with the media.

That is because this time the couple elected not to do interviews. I think they wanted to do the appropriate thing and introduce their new baby to the media and crowds, but then get home to Kensington Palace; Kate had to have been exhausted.

When it came to car seat duty Prince William was an old hand.

In comparing what the Duchess wore in July 2013 with what we saw barely two weeks ago, one notices subtle differences. The shoes were a sign Kate’s look was just a bit more formal with this baby.

Instead of 2013’s more casual espadrille-style wedge Kate opted for a dressier shoe, wearing her Gilbert heels by Jimmy Choo.

The only other apparel/accessory item one might compare is Kate’s earrings. When introducing Prince George to the world Kate wore Kiki McDonough’s citrine drops. With Princess Charlotte we saw the Annoushka pearl drops with Kiki McDonough’s diamond hoops.

If characterizing less tangible distinctions, the most obvious difference is the couple’s self-assurance. This time they knew what to expect when stepping out in front of the media and crowds of well-wishers. And they surely have more confidence in their parenting skills; friends tell us that second babies are easier in many regards, if only because they’ve learned so much in caring for their first child.

The biggest difference was intangible, best described by saying the Duchess looked more regal. Jenny Packham’s whimsical polka dots were replaced by an elegant floral motif. There was one thing that didn’t change between George’s birth in 2013 and Charlotte’s birth this year: Kate was simply radiant on both occasions.

The flow of gifts for Charlotte continues unabated. Prince William returned to royal duties this week. When at an engagement with England’s women’s football team, he was given a miniature team jersey for Princess Charlotte.

William sounded like many other parents with a newborn and a toddler, more from a Daily Mail story:

He said George is very lively, and Princess Charlotte has been keeping him up all night, giving him a few sleepless nights,’ said England captain Steph Houghton.

But he said he was just happy to have them both here.’

I imagine we’ll have a family photo released within the next week or two.

LINKAGE:

• PopSugar has a fun photo gallery loaded with photos of both George and Charlotte’s debuts, you’ll find it here
• While it is more than a year away, big plans are in the works for the Queen’s 90th birthday next year. The official website is here, with thanks to Betty W on the WKW Facebook page for the tip.