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(1) The birth of Prince William was described as a “16-hour confinement” for the Princess of Wales; (2) Diana and Charles leave hospital with their second child, Prince Harry; (3) (l-r) Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duke of Edinburgh pose with baby Edward at Windsor on Her Majesty’s 39th birthday; (4) The Duke of Edinburgh was said to have played squash while the Queen gave birth to their first child, Prince Charles.

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The Duke of Cambridge “cried lustily” when he was born at 9.03pm on June 21, 1982. His father the Prince of Wales was present and

William became the first future British king to be born in a hospital.

Rapturous crowds gathered outside St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, where Diana, Princess of Wales had been admitted to the private Lindo Wing.

Such were the cheers from the excited well-wishers following the news that a son had arrived that when Charles emerged two hours after the birth, the new father asked them to make a little less noise.

He told reporters his yet unnamed son was “in marvellous form”. Charles added: “It is rather a grown-up thing, I found. Rather a shock to the system.”

The Queen visited her grandchild the following morning, as did Diana’s parents. Prince William, who was born second in line to the throne, made his public debut just a few hours later, wrapped in a white blanket and cradled in his father’s arms outside the hospital.

The Times newspaper referred to the Princess of Wales’s labour as a “16-hour confinement”, adding that: “The child weighed 7lb 11/2 oz and cried lustily”.

Charles, in contrast, was born at Buckingham Palace. The Queen had all four of her children at home. He arrived at 9.14pm on November 14, 1948, weighing 7lb 6oz.

News of the birth was cabled across the world and crowds gathered outside the gates of the palace, while the fountains of Trafalgar Square were lit blue for a boy. Information about the birth was limited.

Jonathan Dimbleby recorded in his biography of the Prince that the Duke of Edinburgh, “not indifferent but restless”, was playing squash while his wife was in labour.

Charles’s birth was the first time in centuries that a government minister was not present to witness the arrival of a future heir to the throne. It was an age-old custom designed to ensure that no substitute had been smuggled in.

Several Privy Counsellors and ladies-in-waiting used to be in attendance in an adjoining room.However in 1894, Queen Victoria,

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Prince William and Kate Middleton meet at St Andrews University, where they both study art history.

The pair reportedly become a couple after sharing a house together with two friends.

William and Kate’s engagement is announced by Clarence House.

November 16, 2010

September 2001

Christmas 2003

April 29, 2011

The pair wed at Westminster Abbey. William is made the Duke of Cambridge by the Queen and Kate becomes the Duchess of Cambridge.

December 4, 2012Commonwealth realms give final consent for the Government to put forward a Bill ending discrimination against women in the succession to the British throne.

December 3, 2012St James’s Palace announces that the Duchess is pregnant and being treated in hospital for severe morning sickness, known as hyperemesis gravidarum.

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December 6, 2012

The Duchess is discharged from hospital after three nights, telling reporters she is feeling “much better”.

December 9, 2012William cancels plans to attend the British Military Tournament to help Kate as she recuperates.

December 16, 2012

December 25, 2012Instead of going to Sandringham on Christmas Day, Kate and William stay with the Middletons in Berkshire.

Kate and William attend the unveiling of her first official portrait at the National Portrait Gallery.

January 11, 2013

January 14, 2013St James’s Palace announces that the baby is due in July and that Kate is feeling better. She is now in her second trimester and has had her 12-week scan.

Kate and William go on holiday to the Caribbean island of Mustique with the Middletons, reportedly staying in a £19,000-a-week villa.

February 5, 2013

February 12, 2013Italian gossip magazine Chi prints photos of Kate in a bikini on holiday. St James’s Palace says it is “disappointed” at the “clear breach” of privacy. Other foreign publications follow suit.

Kate makes her first public appearance since leaving hospital by presenting the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award to cyclist Bradley Wiggins.

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The Duchess of Cambridge, who with her husband forms the focus of the modern monarchy, has stepped into her role with ease.

Kate has been billed as the woman the Windsors were waiting for – an up-to-date royal who still keeps the Establishment happy.

Kate is said to be assured, bubbly, kind in nature with a mature outlook, while William revealed she has a “really naughty sense of humour”.

She was nicknamed “Waity Katie” for her patience during her long courtship with William. Now she is secure in her position as the Duke of Cambridge’s wife, the mother of his child, and the nation’s future Queen.

Born on January 9, 1982, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton is the eldest child of businessman Michael and ex-air hostess Carole Middleton.

Kate was christened at the parish church of St Andrew’s Bradfield in Berkshire on June 20, 1982.

In May 1984, when Kate was two years old, the family moved to Amman in Jordan, where her father worked for two-and-a-half years. She attended a nursery school in

Amman from the age of three. In September 1986, the Middletons returned to Berkshire, and Kate started at St Andrew’s – a private school in Pangbourne.

At the age of 14, after a couple of unhappy terms at Downe House near Thatcham in Berkshire, she switched to Marlborough College in Wiltshire where she was a keen netball and hockey player. She studied chemistry, biology and art at A-level.

She is said to have blossomed at Marlborough College, arriving as “Catherine” and leaving as “Kate”.

Kate finished at Marlborough in July 2000 and took a gap year, studying in Florence and, like William, attending a Raleigh International programme in Chile.

Kate began reading history of art at St Andrews in Fife in 2001, as did William, although he later switched to geography. Kate was credited with persuading William to stay after he considered quitting.

The pair became friends, flatmates and then their relationship blossomed, reportedly around Christmas 2003.

Kate graduated with a 2:1 at the same ceremony as William in 2005.

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