The Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to hospital early this morning – read all the latest news on the royal baby's arrival
Kate Middleton is in labour, Kensington Palace has confirmed. The Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to hospital early this morning, and just as the world's press predicted, news of her arrival at St Mary's Hospital in London was broken by a team of royal photographers camped outside the Lindo Wing.
Kate Middleton and Prince William had been staying at the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, before returning to their Kensington Palace apartment at the weekend.
Early this morning, at around 5.30am, the royal parents-to-be travelled by car to the Lindo Wing. So there was no need for helicopters or emergency transport – in fact, Kate's journey sounds anything but dramatic.
Royal vehicles were seen at a back entrance to the hospital at around 6am. While the pair were not photographed, their arrival was tweeted and shared by a team of paparazzi snappers from Ikon Pictures. Jesal Parshotam tweeted at 5.55am: 'Kate Middleton has gone into hospital... #royal #worldexclusive @IkonPictures #LindoWing #RoyalBaby #RoyalBabyWatch .'
He then tweeted: 'It's not everyday myself and @Babylon902 get to break an international news story. #RoyalBaby #royalbabymania .'
Jesal was then bombarded with tweets asking questions about the Duchess of Cambridge's admittance, and he confirmed that he saw the royal convoy and the security as the royal pair arrived.
A spokesperson for Kensington Palace then issued a statement at exactly 7.30am, confirming that the Duchess was 'in the early stages of labour'.
Once the baby has arrived, a medical notice declaring the sex and weight will be driven to Buckingham Palace and posted onto an easel. Camera crews from ITN, Sky News and the BBC will then zoom in on the notice to reveal whether our royal heir is a baby boy or a baby girl. The name is expected to be announced at a later date.
The next time we see the Duke and Duchess will be when they emerge from the front entrance of the Lindo Wing, carrying their newborn royal baby.
A spokesperson for Kate adds that 'things are progressing normally'.
Stay tuned for regular updates… good luck, Duchess!
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