Royal baby: How long will the delivery take?

Kensington Palace has announced that Kate Middleton has gone into labour, waiting until the Duchess had been seen by medical staff and was comfortable in the Lindo wing before publishing the statement. She and Prince William were ushered in a side entrance of the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital just before 6am GMT this morning, to escape the prying eyes of the world’s press that have been camping outside the front entrance for days. The Palace can also confirm that the labour is running smoothly, and that Kate is “well” at this crucial time. We can only speculate how long Kate will be in labour for, but it could be a long wait given that this is her first birth. Taking a look at previous Royal labours, Princess Diana was in labour for somewhere in the region of 16 hours before delivering the baby’s father, William. Dr. Gulerana Shoaib from CEDARS Jebal Ali International Hospital, shared her expertise on the subject. “A first-time mother can have a labour of up to 18 hours, providing there are no complications.” Aside from the acute morning sickness Kate experienced early on in her pregnancy, there have been no reported difficulties during the last nine months, and Kensington Palace as well as hospital spokespeople have assured that the labour is progressing as normal. The medical team delivering the royal baby will be led by Marcus Setchell, a “lovely, old-school gentleman” who is “very highly rated with the Queen”, according to a senior royal source. In 2005 he was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order for his service to the monarch and her family, being her surgeon/gynecologist since 1990 and delivering other Royal babies. If the heir arrives today its zodiac will be Cancer, contrary to the Duchess of Cornwall’s prediction that it would be Leo. The gender of the baby will be announced via an easel placed on the railings of Buckingham Palace – the same one used for the announcement of Prince William’s gender – maintaining a sense of occasion about the birth in the age of social media. The first signal that a Royal baby has arrived will be when a member of the Royal household walks out onto the hospital steps with a sealed envelope, containing this notice. The boy or girl will be third in line for the throne. . Adam Melone is an intern at Gulf News