Prince George’s Birth Was Stressful for Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Staff

The circumstances surrounding the birth of any baby are stressful, but when the baby is the future king or queen, it’s naturally slightly elevated.

Such was the case on the July 22, 2013 birthday of Prince George, born to parents Prince William and Kate Middleton. The couple—then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge—accidentally caused “extraordinary” pressure for royal staff because they offered no help or insight as to how they wanted to announce the news of their firstborn’s arrival, Russell Myers wrote in his new biography of the couple.

Thankfully, George arrived safe and sound, but inside the walls of William and Kate’s office at Kensington Palace, it wasn’t smooth sailing, according to Hello!. The couple’s staff were taken aback by William and Kate’s “incredibly relaxed” demeanors around the whole situation, and courtiers felt pressure to make a perfect announcement about the pair’s first child and heir to the throne. According to Myers’s new book William and Catherine: The Monarchy’s New Era: The Inside Story, after William and Kate were nonchalant about everything, staff turned to historical clippings for inspiration on what to do.

“On the surface, they were both incredibly relaxed, which actually made us all slightly more nervous,” a former courtier said. “We genuinely had no idea how the birth should be announced, so we proceeded to get some old documents and newspaper cuttings from the archives, which only complicated matters.”

“The weight of expectation was extraordinary,” the courtier continued. “There was no doubt in our minds that this would be a global event, so everything had to be right.”

In addition to figuring out how to announce George’s birth, the press office was fielding hundreds of calls from journalists around the globe looking for information. Myers added that only four people knew of the security plans for George’s birth.

Though William and Kate’s staff turned to the archives for inspiration, the couple ultimately broke traditional protocol by announcing George’s birth via email and social media rather than the typical easel placed outside of Buckingham Palace (though the easel was put out afterwards). George Alexander Louis was ultimately born at 4:24 p.m. at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital, and his arrival was celebrated with gun salutes. Bells at Westminster Abbey—where his parents had married over two years prior—tolled continuously for three hours in celebration.

Around 24 hours after his birth, William and Kate debuted George on the famous steps of the Lindo Wing, loading him up in their waiting Range Rover to take their boy home. The couple had not finalized George’s name yet, so at that time, William said, “He’s got a good pair of lungs on him, that’s for sure. He’s a big boy—he’s quite heavy. We are still working on a name, so we will have that as soon as we can.”

Years later, Kate told host Giovanna Fletcher of George’s birth, “It is extraordinary, as I’ve said. How can the human body do that? It’s utterly extraordinary, actually. And he was very sweet. And [I was] also sort of relieved that he was a happy, healthy boy.”