Kate Radiant In Blue Jenny Packham As We Meet His Royal Highness

With throngs of well wishers crowded at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital, Kate, William and the newest royal met the public.

The new parents couldn’t have looked any happier.

William seemed every bit the proud papa.

While Kate was radiant.

You can see the size of the crowds in this picture from CNN’s David Wilkinson.

Kate seemed overcome with emotion when initially coming outside, seeing and hearing from all of those who wanted to meet the baby.

The couple took a few very quick questions from the media. William described his son:

“He’s got a good pair of lungs on him, that’s for sure. He’s a big boy, he’s quite heavy!”

From the story on the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge website:

Speaking outside hospital, The Duke said: “He’s got her looks, thankfully,” while The Duchess replied: “No, no, I’m not sure about that.”

Say hello to HRH, the Prince of Cambridge.

More from from Simon Perry’s People magazine story:

“It’s very emotional,” Kate said of the experience. “It’s a moment that any parent having just given birth will know what this feeling feels like.”

But when it comes to what the little one will be called, William had this to say.

“We are still working on a name..so we’ll have that as soon as we can.”

Prince Harry’s name was announced when he left the hospital, it was approximately a week before we learned Prince William’s name, and almost a month to learn what Prince Charles would be called.  From the Telegraph’s live blog of events:

…when asked if he would be called George, which is the bookmakers favourite, William laughed and said: “Wait and see, wait and see.”

It was also revealed that William is the one who did the first diaper change. Back to the story from the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge website:

Asked about changing nappies The Duke said: “We’ve done that already,” and The Duchess agreed saying: “he’s done his first nappy already”.

He added: “I’ll remind him of his tardiness when he’s a bit older. I know how long you’ve all been standing here so hopefully the hospital and you guys can all go back to normal now and we can go and look after him.”

William’s sense of humor was evident throughout the brief Q & A, back to the Telegraph’s blog.

He showed the young Prince’s head and added: “He has got more hair than me, thank God.”

For her first appearance as a new mother the Duchess wore a bespoke Jenny Packham dress.

The cornflower blue and white polka dot dress is crafted of silk crepe-de-chine, with a gathered empire waist and self belt.  Below, a closer look at the material and the belt.

Kate’s hairdresser, Amanda Tucker, arrived several hours before her release.

The Duchess accessorized with her trusty wedge sandals by Pied a Terre Imperia, now available only in red.

The brand is carried at Dune, but the broadest selection of styles seems to be at House of Fraser and at John Lewis.

The crowd was sizable, as illustrated by this picture from Kat Higgins of Sky TV.

The media crush was also intense as seen in this photo from Simon Perry of People magazine

Another angle, this one also thanks to the kindness of ITV’s Georgina Brewer.

A much different sight than 1982 when Prince William was presented to the world. In fact, CNN’s Max Foster says that when Diana and Charles posed with William there were only 2 (two) television news camera crews on hand to record the event.

Below, a photo shared on Twitter by legendary royal photographer Arthur Edwards shows the entire crowd of media waiting for Diana and Charles at the Lindo Wing when Prince William was born. Mr. Edwards can be see on the far left of the photo, wearing sunglasses with his right hand on what looks like a tripod.

The couple repeated their thanks to the staff  and hospital:

“Their Royal Highnesses would like to reiterate their thanks to the hospital for the care and treatment they have all received.

And in a thoroughly modern twist, the Prince of Cambridge was taken back into the hospital so he could get properly situated in his car seat.

From the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge website:

The Duke smiled from behind the wheel and Kate, who was sitting on the back seat, waved with her son next to her in a baby seat.

After that, it was off to Kensington Palace, where the little Prince was said to be meeting his Aunt Pippa.

You can just see Kate in the back seat with the baby.

Wrapping up with a few observations:

• Many have asked if I believe Kate’s polka dot dress was a bit of an homage to the dress worn by Princess Diana when leaving St. Mary’s with a newborn William. I do think Kate’s choice was designed to reflect her respect for William’s mother, and sensitivity to the gap caused by her absence. I don’t know if homage is the precise word I would choose, but it is certainly appropriate under the circumstances.
• Others asked if I thought there was an identical dress made for Kate to wear in pink, should she have given birth to a daughter. Yes, I do believe there was an identical, or very similar frock ready for the Duchess to wear in the event she checked out of the hospital with the Princess of Cambridge, as opposed to the Prince.

A quick look at a few of tomorrow’s front pages, beginning with The Sun.

The Wales Western Mail.

The Scotsman.

The Irish Daily Mirror.

The Daily Telegraph.

And the Times of London.

This is one of those times when I am reminded of the saying, “So small the babe – so great the joy.”