Royal baby: Princess meets proud grandparents

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their baby daughter. Picture: Getty

SHE is already one of the most talked about youngsters in the world, despite being barely 48 hours old.

But the as-yet unnamed princess yesterday enjoyed some quality time as a normal child with her grandparents as both the Middletons and Prince Charles headed to Kensington Palace to meet the new arrival.

Carol Middleton and her daughter Pippa were first to arrive at the Palace yesterday morning, followed a few hours later by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, who stayed for around an hour and a half. Proud grandfather Michael Middleton visited in the early afternoon.

Bookies were last night still taking bets on what the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would name their daughter – with Charlotte and Alice still thought to be front runners – as Kensington Palace confirmed that the name would not be announced until at least today.

Prince Charles leaves Kensington Palace after visiting his new granddaughter yesterday. Picture: Getty

A spokesman said: “The Duke and Duchess are hugely grateful for the messages of congratulations they have received from people all over the world. It means a great deal to them that so many people have celebrated the arrival of their new daughter.

“Their Royal Highnesses were today visited by The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Mr and Mrs Middleton, and Pippa Middleton.”

The spokesman added that Prince Harry, who is currently in Australia on a four week placement with the Australian Defence Force, was looking forward to meeting the baby on his return.

He said: “Additionally Prince Harry has said about his new niece: ‘She is absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait to meet her.’”

William’s father the Prince of Wales – who had previously said he wanted his second grandchild to be a girl – and the Duchess of Cornwall were left “absolutely delighted” by the news of the baby’s arrival, Clarence House said yesterday.

Victoria, Olivia, Elizabeth and Diana were also popular choices among the public. Prince George’s name was not revealed until two days after his birth, while royal watchers were forced to wait a week after William’s birth in 1982.

Bookmaker William Hill said its takings on baby name bets since the birth had hit six figures and said it expected that industry-wide, the turnover would reach £1 million.

The family returned home on Saturday evening, just ten hours after the Duchess gave birth to the 8lb 3oz baby girl in the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London. The new princess had already received a visit from her brother, one-year-old Prince George, however, other family members did not attend the hospital. The family is expected to return to their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall, sometime in the next 24 hours. The property is close to Sandringham Palace, where the Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, are currently staying. It is possible that the Royal Family will not announce the name of the new baby until the Queen has seen her and approved the choice of name.

The Cambridges’ daughter is fourth in line to the throne.

Gun salutes will be fired in Hyde Park and at the Tower of London this afternoon to mark the birth.

Unique gift for thousands born on 6 May: a silver penny to mark connection with youngest Cambridge

Babies born on the same day as the princess are eligible to receive one of 2,015 free “lucky” silver pennies from the Royal Mint.

The first silver penny was presented to new parents Chantal and Miguel Abel, whose daughter Sofia arrived at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London at 11.30am on Saturday – three hours after the royal birth.

Shane Bissett, director of commemorative coin at the Royal Mint said: “The Royal Mint has been celebrating special events using coins for over 1,000 years so we’re honoured to be able to mark this momentous occasion in our own way, which is in keeping with an age-old tradition to mark a new birth with a gift of silver for good luck. We send our very best wishes to Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and extend this to new parents across the country today as they celebrate their own special arrivals.”

All parents of babies who arrived on 2 May have 60 days to register the birth of their child on the Royal Mint’s Facebook page by using the My Silver Penny app to receive the commemorative gift.

One baby eligible to receive the penny is the new daughter of Farrena Sadiq, 28, a business studies teacher and Mohammed Imran, 31, a financial consultant, both from Pollokshields. Their baby, who like the princess, has not yet been named, was born at Princess Royal Maternity in Glasgow 40 minutes before the latest royal was born.

Ms Sadiq said: “We’re waiting until after we hear what Kate has named her baby to name ours – just in case we choose the same one. I didn’t even know until she arrived that she’d be a girl. It’s a nice claim to fame for her. She’s our wee princess.”

A £5 coin featuring the words “To celebrate the birth of the second child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge” has also been produced. The coins are available in limited edition Gold Proof and Silver Proof versions, as well as an unlimited cupro-nickel one. Designed by coinage artist John Bergdahl, they also bear the new coin portrait of the Queen by Jody Clark.