Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announce birth of son - Today's news, tomorrow's lesson - July 23, 2013

A future king of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms has been born in London’s St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington.

The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a baby – 8lb 6oz – at 4.24pm GMT on Monday July 22. Two days later, on July 24, it was announced that the baby's name would be George Alexander Louis.

Prince George, who will be known officially as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge, is third in line to the throne after his grandfather Prince Charles, who is first, and his father Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, who is second.

The birth put paid to months of speculation over the gender of the royal baby. The birth of this particular heir held the potential of historical significance, being the first child to be born under the new Succession to the Crown Act 2013. This act ended over three centuries of primogeniture – the right of the first-born son to inherit the throne. Under the previous law, a first-born female child could have lost her place in line to a younger brother.

However, Prince George still holds the potential to be a royal first: the first heir to the throne since the Act of Succession 1701 to be allowed, if he wishes, to marry a Roman Catholic, although he will still have to seek permission from the reigning monarch at the time.

Nevertheless, some traditions remain. The announcement of the birth was made through a proclamation on a wooden easel, posted behind the railings of Buckingham Palace, the monarch’s official residence. The typed announcement was only made once the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, and the Duke and Duchess’ immediate family had been informed.

Despite the Declaration of Independence detailing the shortcomings of Baby Cambridge’s ancestor and namesake George III at quite some length, it appears that today’s US citizens hold no lingering grudge against British royalty.

On the contrary, public interest in the royal birth has been fevered and correspondents from all the major news networks were camped outside the Duchess’ hospital for weeks prior to the birth.

President Barack Obama sent his congratulations to the Duke and Duchess: “We wish them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings. The child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations. Given the special relationship between us, the American people are pleased to join with the people of the United Kingdom as they celebrate the birth of the young prince.”

In addition, people across the nation marked the birth in their own way.

ABC News reported on a Texan cake designer who was so inspired by the Duchess that she created her own life-size “Cake Middleton”, depicting the duchess and her newborn son. Nadine Moon said that the edible tribute took her and her team a week to create. She is now in discussions with Kensington Palace about the possibility of transferring the 5 foot 6 inch cake across the pond.

Zachary Pope, who owns a gourmet food market in Maryland, decided to use the royal birth as a way to help those not as fortunate as the new prince.

“I'm 40 and I remember when Prince William was born... the Americans have a real romance with the royals,” he told Channel 4 News in the UK. “We were kicking around some ideas about something to do locally for it so we decided to give a royal baby shower benefit. We started collecting baby items that would be donated to a local charity that supports mothers on a low income.”