He woke up to only the second new day of his life, but already it was time for another moment of history for Prince George of Cambridge.
FileKate, Duchess of Cambridge holds the Prince of Cambridge, Tuesday July 23, 2013, as they pose for photographers outside St. Mary's Hospital exclusive Lindo Wing in London where the Duchess gave birth on Monday July 22.
After being fed, dressed and changed at his parents’ cottage inside Kensington Palace, he was handed to his first visitor of the day, Her Majesty The Queen.
It was the first time in almost 120 years that a reigning sovereign had cradled a direct heir three generations younger than her. The monarchy, literally and metaphorically, was in safe hands.
No official photograph was released to record the moment, though the Duchess of Cambridge, who is a keen amateur photographer, may have taken some pictures for the world’s most exclusive family album which presumably already has a rare photograph of three heirs to the throne together following the Prince of Wales’s visit to the hospital on Tuesday.
Just an hour and a half later Prince George was taken on his first family outing, making a trip to Berkshire to see his grandparents Carole and Michael Middleton.
It is expected that the Duchess and her son will spend the next three weeks in her parents’ village of Bucklebury, proving correct suggestions that Mrs Middleton was destined to play a large role in her grandson’s life, unlike previous in-laws to the Royal family.
ANDREW COWIE/AFP/Getty ImagesCarole (R) and Michael Middleton, parents of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, address the media after visiting St Mary's Hospital in London, on July 23, 2013.
The Duke and Duchess are believed to have their own room in the large manor house and are said to favour staying there, with her parents, rather than Kensington Palace, where building work is taking place at the couple’s new home.
But before visiting his grandmother, there was the small matter of being introduced to his great-grandmother.
The Queen made the short journey from Buckingham Palace to Kensington Palace at around 11am, arriving in a dark green Bentley at Nottingham Cottage, the Cambridges’ temporary home until refurbishment work is completed on the larger Apartment 1A.
The Queen had told guests at a reception the night before that she was “thrilled” by the baby’s arrival, saying that at 8lbs 6oz he was an “enormous child”.
As ever, she had put duty first by attending a reception for winners of a business award, rather than heading to St Mary’s Hospital to see Prince George, meaning she did not see him for 43 hours after he was born.
She may, however, have had the consolation of being the first to be told his name. The Duke and Duchess had decided they wanted to spend some time with their son before making a final decision on the matter, and the Duke said he and the Duchess were “working on” the name even as they left hospital on Tuesday.
The Queen would certainly have approved of their choice, inspired by her father, George VI. But after just half an hour with the future king, duty called once again as she headed off for her weekly meeting with the Prime Minister.
AFP PHOTO / POOL / John StillwellJOHN STILLWELL/AFP/Getty ImagesThe safe hands of the Duchess of Cambridge hold her son outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London on July 23, 2013. The baby was born on Monday afternoon weighing eight pounds six ounces (3.8 kilogrammes).
By the time the Queen met Prince George, he had already been introduced to his uncles and aunt. Pippa and James Middleton had been waiting at Kensington Palace when he was brought home from hospital on Tuesday, and Prince Harry, who had come off shift at Wattisham airfield in Suffolk, dropped by to meet his new nephew shortly afterwards.
Life as a member of the Royal family tends to be lived in perpetual motion, and Prince George appears to be no exception to that rule.
Just 90 minutes after the Queen had left, Prince George was strapped into his car seat ready to be taken to Bucklebury, where he is expected to spend the next three weeks with his parents and maternal grandparents. Although he will have been oblivious to it, he also got his first sight of the sort of security that will surround him for his entire life.
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As well as the armed police patrols and royal bodyguards at the Middleton family home whenever the Duchess visits, Thames Valley Police had sent up a helicopter and dispatched officers on horseback to patrol the perimeter of the 18-acre property.
The Duke of Cambridge has two weeks’ statutory paternity leave, meaning he will have to go back to work with his search and rescue squadron at RAF Valley in Wales on Aug 6, though parking restrictions imposed on the country lane outside the Middleton residence suggested the Duchess intends to stay there for three weeks.
Some things, however, remain the same for royal babies and commoners alike. The couple must register their son’s birth in the next 42 days and the Duchess will be offered home visits by a local midwife for her son until he is 28 days old.
His progress will be entered into the same red-covered personal child health record book that is given to every baby, and for the next five years the Duchess will be offered help from her local health visitor.
LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty ImagesPrince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge show their new-born baby boy to the world's media outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London on July 23, 2013. The baby was born on Monday afternoon weighing eight pounds six ounces.
The Daily Telegraph