It would appear that the general public simply cannot get enough of royal infants, as evidenced by the media frenzy that ensues whenever a member of the royal family gives birth to a new child. It was the same for the children of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, who has three, and the children of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, who has two young children. But long before the arrival of their little ones, Queen Elizabeth II welcomed four children, all of whom were born at home as was the custom until Princess Diana broke the mold by giving birth to her first son Prince William at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London, paving the way for Kate and Meghan to deliver their babies in a hospital as well.
However, Queen Elizabeth was quite the pioneer herself, forgoing the practice of having a top politician present for every royal birth. According to the historian Kate Williams, who was interviewed by The British Heritage, “until then, it was going to be witnessed, not in the room but outside, by Prime Ministers, and by Home Secretaries.”
However, Elizabeth’s father, King George VI would not have it. “In the past, important politicians were usually present at royal births; however, the Queen’s father refused to do so. Therefore, he brought an end to following that protocol. “Even if she is about to give birth to the successor to the throne, we are not going to have this witness,” Williams remarked. “We are not going to have this testimony.”
In another departure from custom, Elizabeth chose to have her husband, Prince Philip, present for the birth of their youngest son. This was the couple’s third child. In the book “My Husband and I: The Inside Story of 70 Years of Royal Marriage,” Ingrid Seward wrote that Elizabeth had read about fathers being involved in childbirth in women’s magazines and asked for him to be by her side during the process. This occurred after she had asked for him to be by her side during the process. Continue reading to learn more about the births of Queen Elizabeth’s children and how they fared after they were brought into the world.
On November 14, 1948, the future queen Elizabeth II gave birth to her firstborn son, Prince Charles. This occurred almost exactly one year to the day after her wedding to Prince Philip on November 20, 1947. At the time of his birth, Elizabeth was still a princess when Charles was delivered by cesarean section in the Buhl Room of Buckingham Palace. Because his wife had been in labor for thirty hours, Prince Philip was not present at the event. In order to calm his nerves, he decided to play a game of squash with his private secretary instead. According to the Daily Mail, when the prince finally received word that the delivery had been successful, he bounded into the room, which had been converted into an operating theater, still wearing his sporting flannels and an open-neck shirt. He then declared that the child resembled a plum pudding.
The bells of Westminster Abbey were rung, and a 41-gun salute was fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. Both of these events were performed in accordance with custom.
The royal couple had already relocated to Clarence House by the time they were expecting their second child. Princess Anne was born there on August 15, 1950, weighing a total of 6 pounds. The announcement of the birth was reportedly “placed on the gates of Clarence House, on a board outside the Home Office in Whitehall, and at Mansion House in the city,” as stated by the BBC. The article continued by stating that “The Duke of Edinburgh hailed the new princess’ health in champagne with his servants,” before going on to say that he phoned Balmoral Castle to alert the king of the news. In addition to this, it stated that “The Royal Salute was fired at 15:30 in Hyde Park by the King’s Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery. ” “As is customary, the casing of the first round fired will be inscribed, and it will be my honor to present it to Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth,” I said as the whole globe exploded in joy at the news.
The birth of Elizabeth’s third child would come after a long pause of 10 years. On February 19, 1960, Prince Andrew entered the world. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was the first queen to give birth to a child in almost a century when she gave birth to him. The queen, who was 33 at the time, had a “twilight sleep” with Andrew, which meant that she was placed under anesthesia throughout labor and delivery and that she awoke without any recollection of the birth. Both of the queen’s children were born at Buckingham Palace. In the 20th century, this was a common practice; however, it has since fallen out of favor and is no longer carried out.
Prince Edward, her fourth child, was born at Buckingham Palace on March 10, 1964. He weighed a total of 5 pounds and 7 ounces at birth. Elizabeth was praised for her choice to go against common practice and allow her husband to take on a more hands-on role in the labor and delivery of their kid. Biographer Seward of the royal family wrote in her book:
“The Queen, who was already 37 years old at the time, had asked him to be there; she’d been avidly reading women’s magazines that stressed the importance of involving fathers in childbirth and had become fascinated by the idea. As a result, Prince Philip made history by becoming the first royal parent in modern times to be present for the birth of one of his children…. The compassion in this family comes from the Queen. And the responsibility and the guidelines originate with him, Philip.”
“The baby was placed in the cream-colored iron cradle that was originally made for his mother,” reports The New York Times. Later on, he will be moved to the Moses Basket, which was once owned by the late Queen Mary, who was the current Queen’s grandmother.
According to the journal, surgeon and gynecologist Sir John Peel led the team of physicians, midwives, and nurses that assisted in the delivery of the baby. Peel had previously been present throughout the births of all four of the woman’s other children.
She is now a great-grandmother to 12 little children in addition to being a grandma to eight grandchildren.