Prince William and Kate formally register birth of Prince George

[News_Editor]

LONDON, ENGLAND (BNO NEWS) -- Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, have formally registered the birth of their new-born baby boy George Alexander Louis, the royal palace said on Friday, nearly two weeks after the couple's first child was born at a London hospital.

Kensington Palace, the couple's official residence, released a copy that showed the birth register. "The Duke of Cambridge signed the birth register at Kensington Palace this morning, witnessed by a Registrar from Westminster Register Office," a palace spokesperson said in a statement.

George Alexander Louis was born in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in London at 4:24 p.m. local time on July 22, making him third in line to the British throne. Prince William and Catherine proudly showed their son to the world the following day, when the couple went home amid global media interest.

The copy of the birth register confirmed details such as the date and location of the birth, the full names of the baby's parents, and listed their address as Kensington Palace. The occupations for the parents was listed as "Prince of the United Kingdom" and "Princess of the United Kingdom."

The couple announced on July 24 that they had named their child George, which had been a clear favorite for bookmakers. But some historians had said George would be an unlikely choice given the controversial history of 19th century Prince George, who was not popular with his cousin Queen Victoria and married an actress who already had four children with three different men.

George has been the name of six British kings so far. The last, George VI, was the father of Queen Elizabeth II and ruled from December 1936 until February 1952. The queen's grandfather, George V, ruled through the First World War from May 1910 until his death in January 1936.

When the royal couple introduced their child to the world on July 23, Catherine answered several questions from journalists who had camped outside the hospital for weeks. "It's very emotional, it's such a special time. I think any parent will know what this feeling feels like," she said. The couple looked relaxed and smiled broadly as they posed for the cameras.

Prince William, who said his son has his wife's looks, then drove Catherine and their son to Kensington Palace, where crowds of well-wishers cheered as the couple arrived. William smiled from behind the wheel and Catherine, who was sitting on the back seat, waved with her son next to her in a baby seat.

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