Background

Welcoming the birth of new life is surely at the heart of every Journal reader's professional role. So I hope I won’t be accused of being populist (or monarchist, or indeed anti-monarchist) as I devote this issue's Consumer Correspondent column to the recent appearance of the British third-in-line to the throne. For while Prince George Alexander Louis is of royal blood, his arrival reflects the delights, concerns, hopes and fears of every baby ever born – and hence is of interest to us all.

Normal birth … unique future

The royal child’s journey into the world was the one that every human child takes. While we know little of the medical details, we do know that his mother enjoyed a largely standard pregnancy, which hit a worrying blip in the first weeks, then may or may not have overshot its due date. We will likely never know whether birth was induced, though the royal protection squad is reported to have done a ‘dry run’ from Kensington Palace to St Mary’s Hospital just a few hours before the for-real early-morning hospital dash, which might suggest active scheduling. The 11-hour labour was par for the course for a first-time mother, and the ensuing 36-hour post-delivery stay in hospital was also within normal limits.

After which, however, all normality evaporated. Few new babies have a press pack of 200+ camped out on the doorstep for 24/7 BirthWatch. Few are claimed not only by the country where they were born but by 54 other nations who regard them as the future Head of the Commonwealth. Few greet the world with their destiny already decided: their education (probably Eton); their career (probably the Armed Forces); their entire life plan (probably – barring abdication and the dissolution of the monarchy – 40 years of waiting …