Royal Baby Facts

In honor of the upcoming birth of William and Catherine's first child, some British royal baby facts:

• When William and Catherine's baby is born, he/she will be the first royal baby to bear and use the style and title HRH Prince/Princess since Princess Eugenie's birth in 1990.

• In the unlikely event William and Catherine's baby is born in a royal palace, he/she will be the first royal baby since 1964 to do so. The last baby to be born in a royal palace was Lady Sarah Chatto, daughter of Princess Margaret, who was born at Kensington Palace on May 1, 1964. Prior to her birth Prince Edward was born at Buckingham Palace on March 10, 1964.

• A royal baby boom occurred in 1964 when four royal ladies were pregnant at the same time. Princess Alexandra was pregnant with her son James Ogilvy, the Queen with Prince Edward, the Duchess of Kent with Lady Helen Taylor and Princess Margaret with Lady Sarah Chatto.

• Princess Anne's son, Peter Phillips, was the first grandchild of a sovereign to be born a commoner in more than 500 years. He and his sister, Zara, are the Queen's only untitled grandchildren.

• Peter Phillips is the first grandson of a British sovereign to be born in hospital.

• Prince William is the first direct heir to the throne to be born in hospital

• After attending the birth of his first child, Peter in 1977, Mark Phillips remarked: "It is not every ones cup of tea". After the birth of his daughter Zara in 1981 he commented: "Yes, I was present at the birth but I wouldn't recommend it to other fathers."

• Contrary to some reports, should Prince William attend the birth of his child, he will not be the first royal father to do so. Other fathers who have attended the birth of their children include Prince Albert, (Consort of Queen Victoria), Prince Albert Edward attended the birth of his first son Prince Albert Victor, Prince George, Duke of Kent attended the birth of his son Prince Edward (the present Duke), as well as Mark Philips, Prince Andrew, Prince Charles and Prince Edward.

• Amongst the baby gifts Charles and Diana received for Prince William was a book of nursery rhymes, containing fourteen well-known characters, entirely in lace. The book was made by a team of lace makers at Beer in Devon and took 10,000 man-hours to create.  

• Queen Victoria was insistent on being present at the births of her grandchildren

• Queen Victoria disliked and disapproved of breastfeeding. When she discovered her daughter Princess Alice did so, she had one of the cows at the Royal Dairy named 'Alice'.

• In 1948, one of the cakes for Prince Charles' christening was made by the students of the National Bakery School. It weighed 130lbs and was 36 inches high.

• Lord Nicholas Windsor, third child of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, was the first royal baby to be born in hospital. He was born at University College Hospital on July 25, 1970.

• Princess Beatrice's date of birth 8/8/88 is considered to be extremely lucky in the Chinese calendar.

• Since the 1970s, it has become the norm for royal babies to be born in hospital. Previous royal babies have been born in more illustrious surroundings. To name a few: Balmoral Castle, the Sandringham Estate, Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, Marlborough House, Kensington Palace, Clarence House and St. James's Palace. 

• King Olav of Norway was born on the Sandringham estate

• Princess Eugenie of York, daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was the first royal baby to have a public christening. This occurred during morning service at St. Mary Magdalene, Sandringham, in December 1990.

• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born on a dining room table

• Princess Alexandra, first cousin of the Queen was born on Christmas day in 1936, the year of the abdication crisis. Her grandmother Queen Mary remarked that her birth was 'The nicest thing to have happened this year.'

• Princess Alexandra's son, James Ogilvy was born on February 29th, 1964.

• In 1960, Prince Andrew was the first royal baby born to a reigning British sovereign since Queen Victoria gave birth to Princess Beatrice in 1857.

• In 1930, Princess Margaret was the first royal baby - so close in the line of succession - to be born in Scotland since Charles I in 1600. At the time of her birth she was 4th in line to the throne. Between Charles I and Princess Margaret other royal babies born in Scotland include Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain in 1887 and her brother Prince Maurice in 1891, both born at Balmoral Castle. However they were not as close in line as Princess Margaret!

• When Princess Margaret was born in 1930, her birth registration was delayed so that her birth certificate would not be numbered 13.

• When Baby Cambridge is born, it will mark the second time in history where 3 direct heirs to the throne have been born while the sovereign is alive. The first time occurred during the reign of Queen Victoria when her son, The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), and grandson, the Duke of York (later King George V) marked the birth of the future King Edward VIII in 1894.

© Marilyn Braun 2013



Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

A bumper year for royal news!

2010 began like any other year. Ho hum royal tours and continuous nauseating royal engagement speculation. If it wasn't Prince William and Kate Middleton's will they/won't they saga, then it was Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy's on/off relationship.

Therefore, there was no reason to believe that 2010 would be any more remarkable than previous years. Royal news tends to come in spurts.The family hadn't had a major royal wedding since 1999 and the Queen's last grandchild had been born in 2007, the same year, The Queen and Prince Philip celebrated their Diamond wedding anniversary.  Her first grandchild married a Canadian in 2008. With the exception of a few minor weddings and births, it seemed like the royal family hadn't had any real news in ages.

Then, in the summer of 2010 that changed. Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn, were expecting a baby. But this would not be just any baby but the Queen's first great-grandchild. The last reiging sovereign to welcome a great-grandchild was Queen Victoria, whose eldest, Princess Feodora Saxe-Meiningen, had been born in 1879.  Peter Phillips himself is not only the Queen's first grandchild but also the first-great grandchild of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

This year would continue to bring happy news with the long-awaited engagement of Prince William to Kate (Catherine) Middleton. And now today's engagement announcement of Zara Phillips to her long-time boyfriend Mike Tindall. With two upcoming weddings and a new baby, what better news could anyone ask for?

At this rate, 2011 promises to be a bumper year for royal watchers!

© Marilyn Braun 2010

Royal Review - Peter Phillips & Autumn Kelly Hello Wedding Issue

I've written several reviews for this blog but I don't believe I've ever written one about a magazine. Given the amount of interest in this issue, I've decided to do so.

I'll admit that when I saw the engagement interview that Autumn and Peter gave to Hello I was delighted with it. I couldn't get my hands on it fast enough. It was an interesting interview, no earth shattering revelations with lovely photos of the couple. But I found it curious that Peter would have done an interview given the privacy he has maintained so successfully for the last 30 years.

But I was further surprised when their wedding got the Hello treatment. Although it is referred to as a Royal Wedding, I find it rather difficult to call it that. Despite being the Queen's grandson, Peter is not royal in that he has no title nor does he carry out public duties. The only royal aspect of this wedding is the location and the guest list which included senior members of the royal family.

For a member of the royal family to sell their wedding to a magazine is somewhat unprecedented. There's nothing new about the royal family stage-managing photo-ops. But this type of interview is something you would see a celebrity couple do, not royalty. Can you imagine Charles and Camilla sharing their love on the cover of Hello? or the Queen and Prince Philip opening the doors to their fabulous Scottish retreat, as they reflect on the enduring love of their 60-year marriage? Royal PR in the 21st century.

Despite all the speculation and uproar surrounding the wedding issue, it's actually fairly tasteful. No one looks uncomfortable. As if anticipating the furor Hello points this out: "Royalty did not appear displeased", and "spontaneous applause from the guests - which did not appear to ruffle the Queen in the least". It's interesting to note that once the wedding photos have been taken that senior members of the royal family, save for Sophie, are not photographed at the reception. The focus on the younger generation, specifically Kate Middleton and Chelsy Davy. Photos show Kate laughing, Chelsy and Kate on the dance-floor, Sophie smiling and clapping enthusiastically, Chelsy and Harry sharing an intimate moment, and the bride laughing as she leaves the reception. This is obviously a joyous event; save for the historic location no different from the wedding reception of any young couple.

The photos during the ceremony are lovely, touching and in no way intrusive. With royal weddings reverting to private occasions, it is a privilege to be privy to this one. The special looks between the couple, the first kiss after being pronounced husband and wife, and the clear delight on Princess Anne's face, makes for a new style of royal wedding; intimate and real.

Does this herald a change for the next royal wedding? Hopefully we won't have to wait long to find out.

© Marilyn Braun 2008

The Royal Report for Sunday May 25th, 2008 - Did Peter and Autumn sell out by giving an interview to Hello Magazine?

Note: There will be no Royal Report on Sunday June 1st and Sunday June 8th, 2008. I will return with a new show on Sunday June 15th. Topic to be determined!

Upcoming Royal Report - Did Peter and Autumn sell out by doing Hello?

Join me for the next Royal Report on Sunday May 25th, 2008 - 9:00PM EST (North America)

The topic will be: Did Peter and Autumn sell-out by giving an interview to Hello magazine?

© Marilyn Braun 2008

The Royal Watcher on CBC Radio

Fulfilling a long held dream to be on the radio, I had the opportunity to be interviewed on CBC Radio One about the wedding of Peter Philips and Autumn Kelly. 12 interviews in all, coast to coast across Canada, here are two of them.

This is the very first interview: Moncton, New Brunswick

Another one: Quebec City, Quebec

© Marilyn Braun 2008

The Royal Watcher on CTV Newsnet

On Friday I had the opportunity to appear on CTV Newsnet to discuss the wedding of Peter Phillips to his Canadian fiancée Autumn Kelly.




P.S.: In case you're wondering the answer to that last crucial question. According to another CTV report, the bride, in a concession to her Canadian roots, served amongst other things, powdered sugar donuts.

Here comes the revolutionary?

I don't know about you. Maybe if I was in the same situation I might feel differently. When I was planning my wedding, the last thing on my mind would have been trying to change history. I was too busy fretting over seating arrangements, favours, choosing a unique wedding dress, perfect tiara, rings, photographer, and guiding my errant, indecisive maid-of-honor towards a dress, in the chosen color, we would both be happy with.

I wasn't 10th in line to the throne. So I didn't have to worry about gaining the Queen's approval. I wasn't marrying a Catholic, so I didn't have to worry about losing my place in the line of succession because of my future husband. I was a bride trying to enjoy my day. And I did.

Unfortunately, sometimes it isn't that simple. Look at Autumn Kelly, the fiancée of Peter Philips. Engaged to the grandson of the sovereign, young, beautiful and Canadian - she has everything going for her. But did I mention she's Catholic? Were it not for who she's marrying, this wouldn't be a problem. Now we're discussing a religious quandry. Will she give up her religion? Does she need a special dispensation from the Vatican? Can love conquer the Act of Settlement of 1701? Bridal nerves takes on a whole new meaning. We're talking about changing history.

It's not something brides usually add to their checklist. You won't find it in any of the wedding planning books; religious quandary pros and cons, dispensation applications, phone numbers for the Vatican. Maybe people trying to hijack this event can supply these to Peter and Autumn?

For most couples, these issues don't normally come up. But Peter Philips is different. He falls under the Act, which along with the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, regulates royal marriages and excludes Catholics or anyone marrying a Catholic, from coming to the throne. There have been two examples of this in the immediate family: Prince Michael of Kent, and his nephew, George - Earl of St. Andrews, both of whom married Catholics. And as a result, forfeited their place in the line of succession. But giving up ones place, especially if unlikely to succeed, doesn't seem to have done either of these men any harm. Maybe you lose bragging rights, but that's about it.

But while many are trying to make this into an issue. Make it seem that someone is going to have to make a painful sacrifice of their identity. How do the couple in question actually feel? Or is that incidental to people trying to promote their own interests? Will Peter and Autumn leave changing history to others or will they allow their wedding to become a catalyst for change?

If so, they might be the best looking revolutionaries in the room.

© Marilyn Braun 2007

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