Prince George of Cambridge - Prince of Cambridge, Family and Life

Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge was born at 4:24 PM on 22 July 2013 in Saint Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, West London, England to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. He was 8 pounds and 6 ounces (3.8 kg) at birth. Prince William and his brother Prince Harry were born in the same hospital to Diana, Princess of Wales.

The Royal House of London announced, earlier than is customary, that his mother was expecting when she had to be admitted in hospital for pregnancy related nausea and morning sickness in December 2012. His arrival became an anticipated event for the media that brought in a lot of speculation.

Prior to the official announcement of his birth, Prince William and Kate Middleton broke tradition by introducing Prince George to the world when they greeted the crowd gathered outside the hospital as they left with their new born baby for their home in Kensington Palace.

News of the royal birth was displayed officially on a traditional easel outside the Buckingham Palace. Gun salutes in Green Park and the Tower of London, coupled with bells of Westminster Abbey and other churches announced his arrival with fanfare. For the first time in history, a royal birth was marked by commemorative coins issued by the Royal Mint, Royal Canadian Mint and Royal Australian Mint.

The lullaby, ‘Sleep On’ was composed by the Welsh composer, Paul Mealor, as a gift for the royal baby. The lyrics were written by Brendan Graham and the recording was done by the New Zealand soprano, Hayley Westenra.

He was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Chapel Royal at Saint James’s Palace on 23 October 2013. As is customary, water from the River Jordan was used for the ceremony. The Royal mint issued a set of commemorative coins to mark the occasion.

It was announced that he would have seven godparents that included Zara Tindall, Cousin of Prince William and Princess Anne; Jamie Lowther – Pinkerton, a former private secretary of the royal couple; Oliver Baker, Emilia Jardine – Paterson and William van Cutsem, friends of William and Kate and Earl Grosvenor, son of Duke of Westminister.

During his christening, for the first time in 119 years, four generations of the Royal family, who were in line for the throne, were present. (Prince George, Prince William, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth).

His first birthday was celebrated around the theme of the children’s author Beatrix Potter, who is related to his maternal ancestors. The occasion was marked by a large gathering of royals.

Prince George started his formal education in January 2016 at the Westacre Montessori School Nursery, close to his family home in Norfolk. He began his primary schooling at the private Thomas’s School in Battersea.

He is the eldest child and the only son of the Duke of Cambridge, which makes him third in line to the British throne, after his father and grandfather, Prince Charles.

On 24th July 2013, his parents announced his name as George Alexander Louis, to be formally known as Prince George of Cambridge. As per royal linage, he is destined to eventually reign as King George VII of the United Kingdom and 15 other realms around the world.

He went on his first royal tour with his parents in April 2014 to New Zealand and Australia. As per media reports, he was the center of attraction during the tour.

His first public engagement was at a playdate at the Government House, Wellington, which was organised by the New Zealand parenting organisation called ‘Plunket’ that provides free health services for children up to the age of five.

His first public appearance in the United Kingdom was when he visited the hospital with his father to see his mother and newly born sister, Chariotte.

His first public appearance from the balcony of the Buckingham Palace was on 13 June 2015, during the Trooping the Colour parade and flypast by the Red Arrows, Royal Air Force Aerobatics Team on the Queen’s Official Birthday.

In April 2016, he was photographed, along with his father and grandfather, for a postage stamp to commemorate his great grandmother’s 90th birthday.

He met the then President of the United States of America, Barak Obama, on April 22, 2016 and was photographed with him on a rocking horse presented to him by Obama when he was born. Obama jokingly remarked that the prince had broken protocol, because he was dressed in a dressing gown.

On 20 May 2017, he was the page boy for the wedding of his aunt, Pippa Middleton. The event received wide media coverage.

The Prince George Effect, also known as the Royal Baby Effect, is a business and cultural trend that popularized clothing and artifacts associated with Prince George of Cambridge. For instance, sales of the dressing gown worn by him when he met Barak Obama skyrocketed in the UK soon after the photograph appeared in newspapers.

His official title from birth is ‘His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge’, taken from his father’s title ‘Duke of Cambridge’.

In 2015, he was ranked No 49 on the international monthly men’s magazine, Gentlemen’s Quarterly (GQ), ‘50 Best Dressed Men in Briton’.

Though his parents want him to be brought up as a normal child, Prince George has to live a very public life from the time of his birth. He is very close to his sister and parents. Major milestones of his life have been shared on social media.

When his mother was admitted to hospital, pranksters from Australia called up and mimicked the Queen and Prince Charles to extract information about his birth. The British-Indian nurse who got taken in by the prank committed suicide three days later.

With his birth, it is the second time in history that three generations of direct heirs to the British throne are alive at the same time. A similar situation prevailed from 1894 to 1901 during the reign of Queen Victoria.

In August 2015, the Kensington Palace issued an order to stop all unauthorised photography of Prince George as it was felt that the Paparazzi was crossing limits in following his movements and photographing him.