The royal baby is set to become one of the world’s biggest celebrities and the crowd surrounding the hospital where the Prince or Princess of Cambridge is due to make its entrance into the world confirms he or she will have to get used to life in front of the camera from day one.
The usually quiet entrance to the prestigious Lindo Wing of Paddington’s St Mary’s hospital has been transformed into one of London’s biggest tourist attractions as the world waits for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first child to arrive.
Though the newest addition to the royal family isn’t due to arrive for a few days at least, media and well-wishers alike are already lining the pavement opposite the steps where the baby’s will make its first appearance.
The skeleton of a media mob was set up ten days ago with dozens of film crews staking out their spots to get the first shots of the royal baby and its proud parents, causing cameramen to already grow weary from the waiting game ahead of the baby’s July 13 due date.
Waiting around the clock in the unusual London heat is tiresome for some, but the dedicated reporters and camera crews have been entertaining themselves by holding a sold out sweepstake, placing bets on when the baby will arrive and pinning joke tags with messages like “please do not feed the photographers” to ladders and gates as some claim they are “dying of boredom”.
Fuelling the ever growing press pack staking out the site of the royal birthing suite is the hospital’s Starbucks coffee shop directly across from the Lindo Wing’s entrance.
The humble cafe is dealing with an unprecedented spike in business and although it’s busier than ever, it has made the decision to operate the store sans managers for fear of celebrity and they became sought-after commentators by the surrounding media.
“It’s not usually like this, to say we’ve been busy is an understatement,” a harried barista yells from over the counter.
“It’s certainly a challenge.”
Local police are on 24-hour watch keeping the press pack under control and adding to hospital security around the royal baby’s birth location, though officers told The Weekly their main role over the past few days has been informing passers-by and hospital-goers what all the commotion is about.
Of course many visitors, like American tourist Patricia Polallo, don’t need to be told why the hospital is quickly becoming a media circus.
The flight attendant came all the way from Chicago and told The Weekly she “just had to come down” to the Lindo wing.
“I only have a short amount of time in London and there was no way I was’t going to stop by and take a picture,” she told The Weekly.
“It’s a once in a lifetime thing.”
Local mum Hazel Vedmore has noticed a lot more foot traffic around her Paddington home just around the corner from the hospital, and says there has been a great deal more interest in the hospital’s maternity wing than there was when she gave birth to her daughter there nine months ago.
After being snapped outside the wing’s entrance as Kate is expected to be as she departs the hospital to bring the youngest royal home — Ms Vedmore’s own “royal baby moment” — she tells The Weekly she was “treated like royalty” herself when she gave birth to baby Myrtle.
Though Ms Vedmore highly recommends the hospital — “it felt more like a hotel,” she says — she anticipates the Duchess will receive even better treatment in her $8000 per night exclusive birthing suite.
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