1950: Princess gives birth to second child
The
heir to the throne, Princess Elizabeth, has given birth to a daughter at
Clarence House in London.
Details of the baby's arrival have been posted on
the gates of Clarence House, on a board outside the Home Office in Whitehall
and at Mansion House in the City.
The baby weighed exactly 6lb (2.7kg) at birth. She
was delivered at 1150. Mother and baby are said to be doing well.
The Queen was seen arriving at Clarence House about
five minutes before the baby was born. She returned later in the day for a
second visit, lasting about two hours.
Royal salute
The Princess gave birth to her son, Prince Charles,
almost two years ago. He was born at Buckingham Palace - since then the Princess
has moved with her family to Clarence House.
The Duke of Edinburgh toasted the new princess'
health in champagne with his staff.
He then telephoned Balmoral Castle where the King
was shooting on the moors. A special messenger was despatched to find him and
give him the good news.
The Duke's mother, Princess Andrew of Greece,
received the news at Kensington Palace where she is staying with the Dowager
Marchioness of Milford Haven, the Duke's grandmother.
The Royal Salute was fired at 1530 in Hyde Park by
the King's Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery. According to tradition, the case
of the first round fired will be engraved and sent to Princess Elizabeth.
Messages of congratulation have begun to pour into
Clarence House. They have come from all parts of Britain and the Commonwealth
and many countries overseas.
It was night time when the news reached Australia.
In theatres, cinemas and nightclubs people stood and cheered as the
announcement was given on the stage or flashed on the screen.
In the United States, radio announcers broke into
programmes to give news of the birth. Afternoon newspapers in New York splashed
the news across the front pages, displacing news from Korea.
