Royal baby: Tired and emotional – time to give the royal three some peace now

Wills seemed so calm, and Kate looked so incredibly beautiful and put-together for a woman who’d just given birth.

I don’t know how she managed heels and a smile; I felt like taking her slippers and a hot water bottle. William snapped his son into the royal baby car seat in about six seconds flat, leaving parents around the world rapt with admiration and envy, recalling their own nine-hour struggles clipping in their car seats (a labour in itself).

Of course there were the inevitable Diana comparisons, she who had left that same wing in 1982 and 1984 for the respective births of William and Harry. But apart from the similar pattern – polka dots – of their post-pregnancy dresses, the two women are worlds apart.

They looked the perfect little family as they walked down the hospital steps, but you could also see that the last thing they wanted to do was share their new son with the world.

In a sense we had no right to share in their joy, but I’m glad they let us.