Post date: Jul 22, 2013 9:17:6 AM
NVO - Prince William's wife Kate has gone into labour and been admitted to hospital for the birth of the couple's first child who will be third in line to the British throne, his office said on Monday.
After weeks of feverish media speculation over the arrival of the royal baby, Kate, 31, was taken shortly before 0500 GMT on Monday to the private wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, westLondon, where William himself was born in 1982.
William Arthur Philip Louis was born on June 21, the first child of Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, and Princess Diana, the most photographed woman of her generation.William's royal position and film-star good looks would soon attract intense media attention.
Shortly before his second birthday the young prince appeared fascinated by the clicking cameras at his first photo opportunity in the gardens of Kensington Palace.
But William's largely unwilling relationship with the camera became evident as he watched the break-up of his parent's marriage played out in the world's media.
At the age of 13, William became the first future monarch to attend Eton College, an exclusive private school west of London noted for having educated 19 British prime ministers.
In September 2001 William arrived at St Andrews University in Scotland to begin a four-year degree course on the history of art. The university saw a 44 percent increase in student applications - many from young women - after the handsome prince decided to enrol.
It was there that he he met his future bride, Kate Middleton. The pair graduated together in June 2005. They dated for many years before eventually marrying, after small separation period in 2007.
In November 2011, Kate and William announced their engagement after nearly a decade of courtship.
More than a million people thronged London's streets and a worldwide audience of over 2 billion watched the sumptuous show of British pageantry which breathed new life into the monarchy.
In December Buckingham Palace announced William and Kate were expecting their first baby.