As per tradition, the birth of Britain’s third heir to the throne was announced by a bell-ringing town crier outside St Mary’s Hospital on Monday. The crowds of Union Jack-waving well-wishers appropriately shouted “Hip! Hip! Hooray!” and sang “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” upon hearing the news.
Much of the rest of the world heard the good tidings in a more modern fashion—via Twitter.
Clarence House, the official household of the royals in London, not only issued an announcement via Twitter, it kept its over 332,000 followers abreast of all developments as they came.
The first two tweets from @ClarenceHouse came approximately 13 hours before the birth at 4:24 p.m. local time.
“Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London in the early stages of labour.”
“The Duchess travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital with The Duke of Cambridge.”
The royal tweeter finally broke the silence with five quick messages relaying important details after the heir was born.
“Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm.”
“The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz.”
“The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth.”
“The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry & families have been told and are delighted.”
“Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well and will remain in hospital overnight.”
The royals’ social media campaign then kicked into full gear inviting followers to use the hashtag #WelcometotheWorld to share stories any other births on the same day; it also began using the infant’s first hashtag: #RoyalBaby. And clearly #WelcometotheWorld idea was a hit for within a short time Clarence House had posted it’s own Storify showcasing a selection of babies sharing the prince’s birthday. Not finished yet, @ClarenceHouse invoked its Google+ arm, an account with over half a million followers.
“Want to send your congratulations to Their Royal Highnesses? You can sign the Google+ card here: http://bit.ly/1bXt8xW“
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