The Prince of Wails Turns One

Katie Nicholl


The Duchess and Duke of Cambridge at Kensington Palace with the eight-month-old Prince George and their cocker spaniel, Lupo.
The Duchess and Duke of Cambridge at Kensington Palace with the eight-month-old Prince George and their cocker spaniel, Lupo.

Celebrating his first birthday, this month, Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge is noisy, ravenous, and destructive. He's also a media star, a style icon, and a P.R. triumph. Reporting on how their son has upended William's and Kate's lives, Katie Nicholl chronicles Christmas at Sandringham, the arrival of a new nanny, and the family's New Zealand and Australian adventures.


When His Royal Highness Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge turns one year old, this month, there will be no official marking of the milestone. There is talk of a low-key family gathering, possibly a small birthday tea at home in Kensington Palace. The future monarch will be the center of attention, surrounded by his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and most likely his maternal grandparents, who have played a crucial role in his life so far. Certainly George's first-birthday celebration will be a far cry from the hullabaloo that surrounded his arrival at 4:24 P.M. on July 22, 2013.

Knowing that the world was waiting, and that a media circus would follow the news of the birth of the future king (who leapt over Prince Harry to become the third in line to the throne), William and Kate delayed the announcement for four hours so they could have a moment of peace and privacy with their newborn. The team of nurses and the royal obstetrician, Dr. Marcus Setchell, who delivered the baby, had been sworn to secrecy. "William and Catherine knew they would never have that time again," says a source. When they were ready to announce the news, the Queen and Prince of Wales were among the first family members told.


SEE MORE: The Most Adorable Pictures of Prince George

At 8:30 P.M., the Palace press machine swung into action, and a brief press statement was sent out: "Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm today." The baby prince's first photo call, like his father's before him, was in his mother's arms on the steps of the hospital. Kate, in a blue-and-white polka-dot Jenny Packham dress, was emotional and radiant; William looked like the proudest father in the land. A tiny pink fist emerged from beneath the bird-themed swaddling blanket from American designer Aden and Anais. George-a day old-was giving his first royal wave. From that day on, the little prince has enchanted and captivated not just a nation but the world.

It was William, with sleeves rolled up, who took the wheel of the family's Range Rover and drove his wife and newborn son home to Kensington Palace. Their first night at Nottingham Cottage, their two-bedroom apartment in the palace, was hot, uncomfortable, and sleepless. They received the Queen the following morning. According to a source, "Catherine and William were shattered. It was very hot in the cottage-there was no air-conditioning and they had barely slept. George was crying so much they could barely have a conversation."

Once the Queen had left, they decamped to the more comfortable confines of the Manor, Kate's family home outside the village of Bucklebury, in Berkshire. Prince George spent the early weeks of his life here. Kate's mother, Carole, was hands-on, helping with feedings, settling the newborn, doing the laundry, and ensuring that Kate, who was breast-feeding, was well nourished. Apart from close family friends, there were few visitors. The very first official family portrait was a relaxed shot of the couple posing with George and their beloved cocker spaniel, Lupo, on the lawn of the Middletons' manor house. Tellingly, it was not an acclaimed photographer who had taken the shot but Kate's amateur-photographer father.

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