Royal baby news: what happens after the Duchess of Cambridge gives birth?

At 8:20am this morning Kensington Palace announced that the Duchess of Cambridge was in the "early stages of labour" and had travelled to the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington to give birth.

The third child for the Duchess and her husband, the Duke of Cambridge, as with their elder children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the couple are believed to have kept the sex of their baby a surprise until birth.

As one might expect, royal births are quite unlike any other. There are strict protocols attached to labour and how the birth is announced.

This is what is happens next...

The Duchess is under the care of consultant obstetrician Guy Thorpe-Beeston

Surgeon-gynaecologist to the Royal household, Guy Thorpe-Beeston, is believed to be caring for the Duchess during labour, supported by consultant gynaecologist Alan Farthing and a team of skilled midwives.

It was Thorpe-Beeston who delivered Princess Charlotte in 2015; Prince George was delivered by Sir Marcus Setchell, who has recently retired as surgeon gynaecologist to the Queen.

Entirely a private matter, what happens within the delivery room is highly confidential and will never be made public.

The Queen must be informed first

Once the new baby has arrived, The Queen must be informed before the news is made public.

At the birth of his first child, Prince George, Prince William is believed to have told his grandmother the good news via an encrypted telephone.

Once The Queen and close members of the Duke and Duchess' families have been informed, a public announcement will be made.

It was formerly tradition for a bulletin to be hurried over to Buckingham Palace and displayed on an easel outside. However, for the birth of George, the Duke and Duchess opted for a more modern approach and made the announcement via Twitter.

This time, a statement is expected to be released to the media via email and a tweet will simultaneously be published by Kensington Palace's Twitter handle.

A town crier makes the announcement

Although not Royal protocol, a town crier is expected to announce the birth outside St. Mary's Hospital. This tradition dates back to Medieval times when most members of the public were unable to read the official proclamation.

"Independent town crier" Tony Appleton announced Prince George and Princess Charlotte's arrivals, and the 81-year-old is believed to be on standby to cry out "Oyez, Oyez, Oyez" (meaning "hear ye") for the birth of the Cambridge's third child as well.

A gun salute will take place

Following the birth of all Royal babies, it is customary for a 62-gun salute to take place at the Tower of London.

The Duke and Duchess will introduce their new child outside the hospital

Whilst it is not known when exactly the Duke and Duchess will present their new baby to the world's media, it was just hours following the births of both Prince George and Princess Charlotte that the couple appeared on the steps of St. Mary's hospital cradling their newborn.

Indeed, only ten hours after Princess Charlotte was born and the Duke and Duchess were taking her home! (It was a little over 24 hours after George's birth that he was able to leave the hospital.)