When Princess Catherine gave birth to Prince George, her parents weren't the first to hear the news due to a strict royal rule.
Royal births, as we know, are a big deal, and as reported yesterday, Princess Catherine apparently had to follow some pretty strict rules when giving birth to her firstborn son, Prince George. So strict, in fact, that her parents were not allowed to hear of the news until another member of the Royal Family did first.
The rule that prohibited all friends and family of hearing the news stated that they were only able to find out until the late Queen Elizabeth II heard the news first. And, of course, the Palace followed through with this rule, The Daily Express reported, and Queen Elizabeth was indeed the first to know about Prince George's birth.
According to Marie Claire, who also reported on the news, Royal protocol was followed through on the day of Prince George's birth 10 years ago on 22 July, 2013. "Royal protocol dictates that the monarch be the first call after a future monarch’s birth, and the late Queen heard the news via a specially encrypted phone from a call from yet another future monarch—Prince William, the brand new, first-time father," Marie Claire reported.
That wasn't the only element Queen Elizabeth had control over at the time of George's birth, though - she also was appointed to give Royal approval of George's name, which fully is Prince George Alexander Louis.
Because of this set of Royal rules, Prince William had to be the one to break the news to the Middleton's after the Queen was informed. According to The Daily Express, William directly contacted both Carole and Michael Middleton, Kate's parents.
"After the call to George’s great-grandmother [the Queen], William would have had to call some of the Middleton family members to let them know the happy news," The Daily Express said. "Later in the day, the public was informed that the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had welcomed their first child."
George was born just 10 years ago (and some change) in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London, coming in at 8 lbs., 6 oz. The news of his sex was delivered to the public via town crier, and his birth information was placed on a poster board outside of Buckingham Palace to mark the joyous day, with fans gathering in front of the Palace to read the news for themselves.
Admittedly though, Kate had "mixed emotions" at the time of George's birth, according to an interview she did on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast.
"Both William and I were really conscious that this was something that everyone was excited about, and you know, we’re hugely grateful for the support that the public had shown us, and actually for us to be able to share that joy and appreciation with the public."
She continued, "But equally, it was coupled with a newborn baby, inexperienced parents, and the uncertainty of what that held, so there were all sorts of mixed emotions."
