A New Princess: U.S., International Media Welcome #RoyalBaby
“It’s a princess!” U.S. and foreign media proclaimed this morning in breathless coverage of the arrival of the latest member of the British royal family. #RoyalBaby was top trender on Twitter as social media muscled into the scene. Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton and their newborn daughter subsequently have left St. Mary’s Hospital.
U.S. media don’t necessarily treat the royal family like the 24/7 soap opera that usually unfolds in Britain, but mainstream People, US, Time, and CNN Joined the BBC and others in trumpeting the news as thousands crowded outside Buckingham Palace and St. Mary’s Hospital for word of the birth.
The arrival of Royal Baby No. 2, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, offered London news outlets a break from near-constant coverage of the upcoming general election. However, the frenzy surrounding this child’s arrival seemed somewhat subdued compared to Prince George’s birth in 2013. That was in part down to the media having been prohibited from moving into place outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital until the official announcement that the Duchess, Kate Middleton, had been admitted — which happened at about 6AM London time. Once members of the family were informed of the birth of the child, whose name will likely not be known for several days, Kensington Palace officially announced the news:
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a daughter at 8.34am.
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 2, 2015
Birth of the new princess took over the top of most U.S. TV network websites, with the situation in Baltimore, MD playing second fiddle for the time being on ABC and NBC websites while on CBS and Fox remained focused on the murder charges against a half-dozen Baltimore police officers. But the arrival of the new princess was a close second.
The 24-hour news channels in the UK and elsewhere in Europe continued coverage with the traditional posting of the birth bulletin in front of Buckingham Palace. Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, was also seen waving to the media when he left the hospital to retrieve first-born Prince George and bring him back to meet his sister. That put the tot in the top trending slot on Twitter.
While the media waits to see if there will be further appearances by family members, the 24-hour channels are cutting in and out — the UK election and the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight also grabbing air time.
(Ross A. Lincoln and Kinsey Lowe contributed to this report.)
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