Culture & Entertainment

Kate Middleton: Not so natural a birth (Our on-the-ground report!)

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Culture & Entertainment

Kate Middleton: Not so natural a birth (Our on-the-ground report!)

Duchess of Cambridge waits patiently for Rosemary from Canada to arrive? I’m mostly joking, with a dash of total seriousness. After all, I’ve flown all night—completely unplugged in a British Airways sleep pod, trying desperately to stock up on sleep hours—to land at Heathrow airport in London. “Any word on Kate Middleton?” I ask the customs guy, a super cute Brit (but aren’t they all?), as I dig through my purse for my passport. “I’m trying my best to avoid it,” he said bleakly. “You can’t avoid it. It’s coming.” I see his eyes read my listed profession—journalist—and he sighs. “You guys are all more into it than we are,” he says, and I can’t argue with that. (In fact, never argue with a customs agent.) But he’s right and I’m guilty: I am super, super into it. And so here I am, jet lagged and hungry at the May Fair, waiting patiently—though by that I mean refreshing Twitter frantically—for the news: Kate Middleton in labour! Royal Baby on its way! Any moment now, as soon as my would-be best friend Kate (c’mon!) feels her first contraction, she’ll tell her private secretary, who’ll call her doctor with a special secret encoded signal. James Bond couldn’t give birth any cooler. ( This just in: She may well be on her way.) Then, the doc will hop into his BMW, pop a flashing green emergency light atop his room, and speed seven miles to St. Mary’s Hospital. I took the slightly less glamorous tube. Here, in a $1,500-a-night suite in the fourth-floor Lindo Wing with WiFi and satellite, where—all reportedly, of course—Middleton’s shooting for an all-natural birth. Not so normal and natural, however, is the two hundred reporters camped outside. (Not me, I mean. I’m just visiting.) Some have been here for days on end, in the sun, in what these Brits are insisting is a heat wave. Some nap, some yell at you to get outta their shot, others look bored and existential, others still are far crazier fans than I. (More on that later, readers!) I only lasted a solid half-hour in the sunshine—hey man, I burn—and so I call it a day at St. Mary’s. The Great Kate Middleton Labour Wait goes on, however, and tomorrow’s a new day! The Royal Christening is happening on October 23rd and Kate is sure to be wearing a hat. We are inspired by these pretty picks: 6 hats we love (and we'd like to see on Kate Middleton!). On site in London, Royal watcher and Toronto writer Rosemary Counter waits patiently for William and Kate Middleton's baby. They're probably more excited than Rosemary, but not by much! Photography: Rosemary Counter

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Kate Middleton: Not so natural a birth (Our on-the-ground report!)

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