The end of the Great Kate Wait 3.0 is in sight with news that the Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to hospital in labour.
Press pens for journalists, photographers and camera crews have been opened up in front of the private Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, central London, to allow the world’s media to report on the impending royal birth.
After Prince George was born in July 2013, William and Kate were keen to avoid a repeat of the media circus surrounding his arrival.
Scores of press were camped outside the Lindo in the weeks leading up to the big day, as the media enduring scorching temperatures during a summer heatwave.
With the birth of Princess Charlotte in 2015, press pens were only opened outside the hospital after Kate was admitted in labour, and the plans were the same this time around.
Kate went on maternity leave on March 22 and parking restrictions notices and barriers were put in place in front of the Lindo Wing on April 9.
Photographers have had their camera bags packed and ladders at the ready since then, waiting for the announcement that Kate had been admitted.
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