Royal Baby Update: GEORGE

Kensington Palace just released the name of Prince William and Kate's newborn son. Royal Baby Cambridge's name is George Alexander Louis.   The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge. 

Will The New Prince Ever Be King?

Today when  the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge revealed their child to the world for the very first time, they were presenting the heir to the throne of the United Kingdom but also the heir to the throne of 16 other Commonwealth nations.

Lawmakers have been working all year to change succession laws so that the crown will pass to this child regardless of his or her gender.   Getting this law passed has proven more difficult than  anticipated. The political process in some of the Commonwealth states are complicating the process.  If the changes don’t go though, the line of royal succession could technically bifurcate, leaving two heirs with competing claims to the throne at some point. Or it could force Australia or Canada to break away from the British crown.

This all began with an old English law, predating the imperial expansion, that gives male heirs preference for the throne.  This seeming a bit outdated, the U.K. wants to change the law so that girls have equal succession rights, as many other European monarchies have done. While it seems simple enough, the problems come from the colonies. As the British Empire expanded, it imposed not just its monarchy on far-flung colonies and possessions, but it also ingrained the rules of royal succession into the colonial constitutions. After the empire collapsed, a number of those colonies kept the British monarch but now they have their own independent governments and constitutions. And if the British royal family wants to guarantee that this baby can inherit the throne regardless of gender, it will need to convince all 16 countries in the British Commonwealth to change their constitutions, so that every one has the same succession laws and it is a lot tougher than you might think. There is no guarantee that every country will follow through, and it’s looking very possible that two of the commonwealth’s biggest countries, Canada and Australia, will refuse to change their laws.

It’s not that Canada and Australia think male succession is a great idea and oppose granting royal women equal access to the throne. The issue is actually that a number of Canadians and Australians want nothing to do with the British royals and think their countries should formally break away from the throne. For them – they’re called republicans, as in they want to have a purely representative government with no trace of monarchy – obstructing what would otherwise be a routine constitutional amendment is a way to force a wider debate on whether Australia and Canada should remain jewels in the British crown.

The Australian and Canadian movements to break from the monarchy are very real. Currently, the Australian Labor Party is in power and it's members generally favor dissolving its ties to the monarchy. In Canada, polling found only a small majority of 51 percent support keeping the monarchy. Much of the opposition in Canada comes from Quebec due to it's cultural links to France.   If Canada and Australia refuse to change their laws it will eventually divide the line of succession and establish two different monarchs. The line of succession split once before in 1838 when Queen Victoria was crowned.  Since England and Hanover, Germany had different succession laws Victoria was queen of all other Common Wealth nations but her brother became the King of Hanover. It is  more likely that if the new succession laws do not pass, these countries will just quit the British monarchy altogether.

 

The history and formality of the British Royal family are important.  In today's society, we have lost the formality, pomp and circumstance that makes us appreciate special events.  The royals teach us how to be more polite, refined, classy and mannerly.  I believe the Royal Family plays an important role in history and  the economy of the United Kingdom. The birth of the royal baby had a $400 million dollar impact on the British Economy.

Royal Baby Watch: IT'S A BOY!!!

 

Catherine (aka Kate) , Duchess of Cambridge, and her husband husband Prince William (aka Wills) on Monday welcomed their first child a baby boy, who is now third in line to the British throne. The Royal Prince was born at 4:24 p.m., and weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces. The Royal baby's name has not yet been announced. According to an  official announcement that was placed outside Buckingham Palace, "Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well."   According to reports, earlier in the day, the duchess and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, traveled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital.   The hospital, next to Paddington Station in London, is where William and his brother Prince Harry were both born.

Protocol dictates that Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister David Cameron and the governors general of each of the Commonwealth nations,  along with the rest of the royal and Middleton families be the first to know about the arrival of the baby. 

 

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla issued a statement which read  "Both my wife and I are overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild. It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine, and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy," 
 

 

 

Royal Baby Watch!

My Mother and Nana woke my sister and me up in the middle of the night to watch Lady Diana Spenser marry Prince Charles.  Since that early morning wedding day, I have been completely fascinated with the life of the British Royal family. I have watched Wills and Harry Grow up from a distance.  I remember watching Fergie and Andy's wedding and thinking this will be interesting.  I thought Edward and Sophie had the most elegant of all the weddings.  I still remember where I was when Princess Diana was killed.  I watched the whole funeral.  I have also watched the interviews and read the books about the divorces, marriages, escapades, and births.  I remember watching Prince Charles marry Camellia (who I still don't like).  I always thought Wills would end up with Kate and sure enough he picked her for his bride and I got to watch another Royal Wedding.  

Since I am obviously interested, I am on daily Royal Baby Watch.  Today's update on the soon to be newest little royal comes from Prince William and Kate Middleton facebook page and it says: 

"Kate Middleton & Prince William are awaiting the Birth of their first Royal Heir at Kensington Palace!"

The page goes on to say "Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton) and Prince William are awaiting the final hours of her pregnancy at Kensington Palace in London, England.

The 31-year-old pregnant royal and the 31-year-old prince reportedly came from her family home in Bucklebury, so they could be closer to St. Mary’s hospital, where Kate is expected to give birth.
The couple’s whereabouts will not be confirmed by the Palace until Kate enters the hospital.

William is currently using his vacation time from being a helicopter rescue pilot to be with Kate in these final hours."

Will update as information becomes available.