The late Princess Diana broke the royal mould when it came to giving birth to Prince William and Prince Harry – and it opened the door for her daughter-in-law Princess Kate
Princess Diana paved the way for the daughter-in-law she never got to meet.
It’s well known that the late Queen gave birth to all four of her children – King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – at home in Buckingham Palace. But when it came to the arrival of her own babies, Diana decided to break the mould.
The Princess delivered Prince William at the Lindo Wing in St Mary’s Hospital on 21 June 1982, and in doing so, she made history. William was the first heir-apparent to be born in a hospital. Two years later, and Diana returned to the hospital for the birth of her second child, Prince Harry.
Princess Kate has followed in her footsteps. She gave birth to Prince George – who will also one day be King – in July 2013 at the Lindo Wing in July 2013, where she also welcomed Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Clearly Kate was happy with her experience; her younger sister Pippa also selected the Lindo Wing for the birth of her first child, son Arthur.
Notably, Diana was not the first member of the Royal Family to use the Lindo Wing – that title goes to Princess Anne, who delivered both Peter and Zara Phillips in the exclusive maternity department. Rooms at the Lindo Wing are highly-sought after; Amal Clooney also gave birth to her twins there.
The rooms are designed to be comfortable and functional, but not opulent. Meals are cooked by chefs, and a waiter comes round every morning to take orders for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
There’s also a wine and champagne list for celebratory toasts, and the option of afternoon tea. Rooms reportedly start at a minimum of £5,215 a night, and suites are available if you apply for them — said to cost around £10,000 a night ($14,0445).
“The most vital thing the Lindo offers is discretion, with each new mother ensconced in her own en-suite room equipped with high-speed internet, radio, safe, fridge and television.” Karen Yossman, who gave birth there, wrote in the Telegraph.
“I didn’t see or hear another patient during the entirety of my stay. ” They even reportedly have blackout curtains to ensure privacy for their patients.
There was a team of 20 top medical staff on hand for the birth of Princess Kate’s children, including the Queen’s surgeon-gynecologist Alan Farthing, the Royal Family’s surgeon-gynecologist Guy Thorpe-Beeston, neonatologist and pediatrician Dr. Sunit Godambe, physician to the Queen and head of the medical household Professor Huw Thomas, and a team of midwives including Jacqui Dunkley-Bent and Arona Ahmed, via Town and Country. Not all of them were there on the day, though.
“We had a huge team,” said Professor Tiong Ghee Teoh, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist, after the birth of Princess Charlotte. “For anything that could possibly go wrong we had a team of people behind each speciality. Everyone was sworn to secrecy about who it was.”
“We were on call for three months,” added anesthesiologist Dr. Johanna Bray. “You never know when you need to be called—you need to be in town and available. If you are at a party you need to have your car keys at the ready. No drinking!”