Duchess of Cambridge goes into labour as she is admitted to St Mary's Hospital with William by her side

Palace officials chose to make the announcement that Kate (seen left on a visit to a children's hospice in Hampshire) has gone into labour in an attempt to balance her 'dignity' with the fact that social media makes it almost impossible to keep the baby's imminent arrival a secret. Prince William is also at the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, west London, where he himself was born in 1982. The couple's child (right) will become third in the line of succession, displacing Prince Harry, who moves to fourth, and Prince Andrew, Duke of York, now fifth in line to the throne.