The Royal Baby is on the way! Update: He’s here!

The wait is over. The world will soon meet the newest royal baby! [Update: He’s here!]

“Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London earlier this morning in the early stages of labour,” Kensington Palace announced via a statement on its Twitter account.

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London earlier this mo… https://t.co/CRss2aoeDl

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal)
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“The Duchess travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital with The Duke of Cambridge.”

The Lindo Wing is where Will and Kate welcomed each of their first two children, Prince George, now 4, and Princess Charlotte, age 2.

The royal parents first announced they were expecting again back in September, and Kensington Palace had previously stated that the duchess was due this month.

We don’t yet know if Kate is expecting a boy or a girl, but we do know that either way, this baby will be fifth in line for the throne, thanks to a rule change enacted before the birth of Prince George that means Princess Charlotte would be the first princess in history to not lose her spot in line if she ends up with a baby brother.

The Queen just turned 92 years old on 21 April, so the new royal baby just missed the big birthday bash by a couple days. This child will be the Queen’s sixth great-grandchild—that’s a pretty sweet belated birthday present.

Luckily, the Queen actually celebrates her birthday twice a year, so this little one may make it to the next party in June.

Perhaps by then we will know this child’s name, but at this point we don’t, and we likely won’t for a few days yet as is tradition.

The bookies in the UK have been placing bets on Alice, Alexandra, Elizabeth, Mary and Victoria for a girl, and Arthur, Albert, Frederick, James and Philip for a boy. We’ll have to wait and see, but any of those are pretty fitting for a little prince or princess.

Congrats to Kate!

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