Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge revealed their newborn baby boy to the world Tuesday, carrying the child out of St. Mary's Hospital to a chorus of loud cheers and the clicks of countless cameras.
The boy, who has yet to be named, was born Monday afternoon at 8 pounds, 6 ounces.
Kate emerged carrying the infant in a white shawl, and soon passed the child over to her husband as the crowd cheered and congratulated the new parents.
The couple appeared happy and relaxed as they waved at the crowds of journalists and onlookers gathered outside the hospital.
William and Kate walked down the steps of the hospital and spent a few minutes posing for photographs and joking with reporters.
William told a reporter in the crowd that the baby “thankfully” has his mother’s looks.
“He’s got a good pair of lungs on him, that’s for sure,” he added.
Asked about the infant’s hair, William quipped: "He’s got way more than me, thank God."
William also noted that “we’re still working on a name, so we’ll have that as soon as we can.”
Kate, wearing British designer Jenny Packham’s baby blue polka dot dress, said she felt “very emotional” following her son’s birth.
"It's such a special time. I think any parent will know what this feeling feels like," she told journalists.
Kate also revealed that William changed the baby’s first diaper, saying: “He’s very good at it.”
After ducking back into the hospital briefly, they re-emerged and Prince William then put the baby, strapped in a car seat, into the back seat of a Range Rover SUV that then drove off to more cheers.
The young family arrived at their home in Kensington Palace to a small family gathering that included Kate’s sister, Pippa, and her boyfriend Nico Jackson.
Reports suggest they will remain at the palace for two weeks while William is on paternity leave from the Royal Air Force, and then Kate will spend some time at her parent’s home in Buckinghamshire.
Earlier Tuesday, William's father Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited the hospital, as did Kate's parents Michael and Carole Middleton.
Carole beamed and said the baby was "absolutely beautiful," when questioned by reporters as she emerged from the hospital.
It was unclear late Tuesday when Queen Elizabeth will meet her new great-grandson.
On Monday and Tuesday, celebratory light shows, gun salutes and other tributes were unleashed in Britain and abroad, welcoming the child into the world.
And on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, a 21-gun salute was fired at noon ET on Tuesday in celebration of the new heir.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, meanwhile, announced that an enclosure at Sydney’s Taronga Park Zoo will be named after the child, as part of a gift from his country. The government will also donate 10,000 Australian dollars in the prince’s name to a research project.
The child is third in line to the throne, after his grandfather Prince Charles and his father Prince William.
Key events in the relationship of Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge
The Associated Press
Prince William's wife Kate gave birth to their first child, to be third in line for the throne. Here are some highlights of their lives and of the royal pregnancy:
--September 2001: Prince William and Kate Middleton meet at St. Andrews University in Scotland where they are both studying art history.
--Christmas 2003: The pair reportedly become a couple after sharing a house together with two friends. In March they are pictured together on a skiing holiday in Switzerland.
--Nov. 16, 2010: William and Kate's engagement is announced. The prince proposed to Kate while on a private holiday to Kenya the previous month.
--April 29, 2011: The pair wed in a lavish ceremony at London's Westminster Abbey. William is made the Duke of Cambridge by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and Kate becomes the Duchess of Cambridge.
--Dec. 3, 2012: The palace announces that Kate is pregnant and being treated in the hospital for acute morning sickness. Kate is discharged from the hospital after three nights, telling reporters she is feeling "much better." The palace later announces that the baby is due in July.
--Feb. 5: The couple holiday on the Caribbean island of Mustique with Kate's parents.
--March 5: Kate seems to let slip that she is expecting a daughter during a solo visit to Grimsby. Accepting a teddy bear from a member of the public, she apparently replies: "Oh, is this for our d...? Thank you so much." The possible slip of the tongue prompts a wave of betting on a royal daughter.
--March 17: Kate tells a soldier at a St. Patrick's Day parade that they do not know the sex of the child, but says she would like a boy and William a girl.
--March 20: Kate is given a "Baby on board" badge when she joins the Queen and Prince Philip at Baker Street Underground station to mark the 150th anniversary of the Tube.
--May 11: Kate and William attend William van Cutsem and Rosie Ruck Keene's wedding in Oxfordshire, England. The pair reportedly take to the dance floor despite Kate being seven months pregnant.
--June 4: William and Kate return to their wedding venue when they join the royal family for a service marking the 60th anniversary of the Queen's Coronation at Westminster Abbey.
--June 13: Kate carries out her final solo engagement before going on maternity leave when she names a new cruise liner -- the Royal Princess -- in Southampton.
--June 15: The Duchess makes her last scheduled public appearance before the birth at the Trooping the Color parade.
--June 19: It is confirmed Kate is planning to give birth at the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington in central London, where Princess Diana gave birth to William and Prince Harry. It is reported Kate is hoping for a natural birth.
--July 22: Kate gives birth to a baby boy, weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces, with William by her side.
--July 23: William and Kate take the baby home to Kensington Palace.
