But Diana, for once, hadn’t set the trend: Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, was the first to use the Lindo Wing to give birth; her son, Peter, was born there in 1977. Her daughter, Zara, followed, in 1981.

Excitement about the latest royal birth began when Kensington Palace posted on Twitter at 8.22 a.m. Monday that Catherine, the duchess of Cambridge, had been admitted to the hospital that morning. At 1 p.m. the palace tweeted again: “Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 1101hrs.”

Around 2.30 p.m., in accordance with tradition, an official notice was erected on an easel in front of Buckingham Palace.