At Buckingham Palace, crowds straining for a glimpse of the official birth announcement on a gold easel in the forecourt were treated to a special edition of the Changing the Guard ceremony.
The Queen’s Guards, resplendent in red tunics and bearskin hats, performed Cliff Richard’s “Congratulations”, to cheers from well-wishers and tourists outside the gates.
The baby will be titled His Royal Highness, Prince (name) of Cambridge – the blank to be filled in when his name is announced.
William’s name was not announced for a week, while the world had to wait a whole month when Charles was born in 1948.
William and Kate did not know the sex of their child until he was born, although the duchess reportedly told a soldier at a St Patrick’s Day parade in March: “I’d like to have a boy and William would like a girl.”
It is the first time since 1894 that three direct heirs to the throne have been alive at the same time, and the 87-year-old queen said she was “delighted” at the birth of her third great-grandchild.
William and Kate are hugely popular and have been widely credited with revitalising the British royals following decades of scandal and the death of William’s mother Diana in a car crash in 1997.
More than 25,300 tweets a minute were sent immediately after news of the birth broke on Monday night, Twitter said, while the hashtag #RoyalBaby was used 900,000 times in the first 24 hours after Kate went into labour.
US President Barack Obama led the international messages of congratulations, which also poured in from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Israel, Japan and Singapore.
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