Weighing in at a healthy 8 pounds, 6 ounces, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (more informally known as Prince William and Kate Middleton), is born on July 22, 2013, at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, England.
The new prince’s birth had been a highly anticipated event, with reporters camping out outside the hospital to get the first glimpse of the new arrival. Though the official birth announcement came, according to tradition, via a statement posted on a gilded easel outside Buckingham Palace, the Duke and Duchess put a more modern spin on things by appearing outside the hospital to introduce their baby to the world.
Two days later, the royal family announced his full name: His Royal Highness Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge. His first name paid tribute to his great-great-great grandfather, King George V, as well as his great-great grandfather, King George VI. Alexander was seen as a possible nod to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II (who was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary), or to Queen Victoria, whose full name was Alexandrina Victoria. Louis was thought to honor his great-great-uncle, Louis Mountbatten, who played matchmaker to the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and was very close to Prince Charles.
Prince George entered the world as third in the line of succession to the British throne. His paternal grandfather, Prince Charles of Wales, stands to inherit the crown from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, while Prince William, Charles’s elder son with Princess Diana, is second in line. George’s birth marked the first time in more than 100 years—since Queen Victoria’s reign—that three generations of direct heirs were alive at the same time.
According to one estimate, between royal baby-themed goods and party supplies, Brits likely spent some £240 million (roughly $300 million) celebrating Prince George’s arrival. His birth kicked off a royal baby boom: His younger sister, Princess Charlotte, arrived in 2015, followed by a younger brother, Prince Louis, in 2018. In 2019, George’s uncle, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcomed their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. In 2021, Markle gave birth to a daughter, Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.
