Birth of a son to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge

Lord Hill of Oareford Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd July 2013 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty The Queen as follows:

“Most Gracious Sovereign—We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, beg leave to congratulate Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall and their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the birth of a son to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge; to signify our great pleasure at this happy event; and to assure Your Majesty of our continued loyalty and devotion”.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, I beg to move that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty the Queen to congratulate Her Majesty, and other members of the Royal Family, on the safe delivery of a son to their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

This is a very happy day: first, for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge personally, as it is for any young couple who experience that mixture of wonder and relief when their first child is born; but, secondly, for the whole country because it means that the succession to the Throne is further secured. No reigning British sovereign has been able to look quite so far ahead since the birth of His Royal Highness Prince Edward of York as a great grandson to Queen Victoria in 1894.

The bells are pealing from the Abbey; the guns have fired their salute. But it is the crowds which have once again gathered outside Buckingham Palace which are the real mark of the great affection in which the Royal Family is held. There, too, in the palace forecourt is the easel bearing the notice from the Queen’s gynaecologist, last used to announce the birth of Prince William of Wales in 1982. When moving a similar Address on that occasion, the late Lady Young said:

“The Monarchy, within our constitution, finds itself more securely based than ever before upon the affections of the people”.

My Lords, amen to that. It was true in 2011 at the Royal Wedding, it was true in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee, and it is clearly true today.

The Duke of Cambridge has started his public life not only through royal duty and service in the tradition of his parents and grandparents but as a serving officer in the Royal Air Force. I am sure that his father is very proud of him, as would have been his mother, at today’s happy news.

The Duchess of Cambridge has won many admirers for the way in which she has taken up her royal duties, supporting the Queen and in her own interests of art, children and sport. She and the Duke of Cambridge were superb ambassadors for the Royal Family, and for the United Kingdom, during the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee.

We are right to celebrate this birth as a national event, but I am sure we all hope that the Duke and Duchess, and perhaps particularly the new Prince, can have some privacy. Royalty carries burdens as well as privileges, and those burdens will fall on the young Prince’s shoulders all too soon.

Our Queen, raised in the imperial court in the first part of the 20th century, today sees a child who is not likely to succeed to the Throne until well into the second half of the 21st. When that time comes, one thing is certain. The new Prince could not have a better example of duty and service than that set by his great grandmother and, indeed, his great grandfather. We wish the child well; we wish his parents well for his upbringing; and we offer Her Majesty the Queen our continued loyalty and our warmest congratulations.