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The Lead with Jake Tapper

It's a Boy! Britain's Royal Baby Arrives

Aired July 22, 2013 - 16:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Welcome back, everyone. You're looking at live pictures of Buckingham Palace, where just a short while ago they posted the official news: it's a boy. The baby has arrived. No name. Just known as baby Cambridge right now, 8 pounds, 6 ounces, a healthy baby. The parents are doing great as well. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, put out a statement saying he is overjoyed by the news. You get the sense by looking at those pictures right now, those aerial shots from over London. There a lot of people overjoyed right now.

Our Max Foster is outside the hospital where the birth happened now just over five hours ago. And Max, a question a lot of people are wondering now. We've heard from the Prince of Wales. When are we likely to see any of the royals?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: We're not going to see them tonight, I'm told, or at least they're not coming out tonight. Some vague chance that William will come out, but I've been told they will not be coming out tonight, they will be in.

The latest update we've got is from the prime minister. He did a formal speech. He's just sent out a statement as well saying an important moment for our nation, but above all, a wonderful moment for a warm and loving couple. And that's off the back of Prince Charles with a similar sentiment as well, speaking on behalf of the family. Prince Charles saying "Both my wife and I are overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild." You can imagine how thrilled the family is that everything went pretty well.

BERMAN: And William, the duke, is expected to spent the night at the hospital. I mean, that's something I know a lot of fathers have done, curled up in the uncomfortable chairs or on the floor. Do you have any sense of what kind of accommodations he might have if he's staying with Kate tonight and the baby?

FOSTER: No. I mean, he may decide to go and come back. There's an exit out the back. We've just been told they won't be coming out as family tonight. I think he probably will stay. He was there throughout the whole birth, he was the only one there, only family member.

It will be interesting to see who does now visit. I think it's unlikely the queen will come, but certainly I think Harold Middleton, Pippa Middleton, James Middleton, they're likely to come. Also Prince Harry if he's around. He's certainly in London later this week. But I don't know if he's around right now in London.

I think they'll get a few visitors now and a high likelihood as well that we'll hear from Prince William himself. We've actually got a microphone set up that all the TV cameras will share. Certainly the intention going into this was that that Prince William would speak to us. It all really depends how he feels after the birth. But it seems likely he will. So will that be tonight or tomorrow morning? We're watching.

BERMAN: Fantastic, Max. We'll come back to you as soon as we get any more information.

We'll also take a look on the ground there at Buckingham Palace. You can see the crowds gathering out there, a nation really celebrating in this birth. We'll get some reaction from the scene when we come back.

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BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone. You're looking at live pictures outside Buckingham Palace. In London right now, it is a big night there, the kind that only happens once in a generation: there is an heir, third in line to the throne, a baby boy born a little more than five hours ago. Eight pounds, six ounces. The baby is doing fine. We do not know the baby's name. We do know for now he's being called Baby Cambridge. And we also know, as you can see that this nation is celebrating. That was the scene just a short time ago. They put up that official announcement on the easel there. That, as I said, is the official announcement. We actually got word in a press release shortly before that that the baby was born and that it is a boy. But if you read it very closely, it gives the weight of the baby, eight pounds, six ounces and also the time of the birth, which was 4:24 local time in London, which is 11:24 Eastern time here.

There again is the scene live right now. A very happy scene where we find our Becky Anderson. Becky, let me say congratulations to you. You look great after the labor.

(LAUGHTER)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After what has been a very long day. Much longer for the Duchess of Cambridge, of course. It's a wonderful atmosphere down here in the crowd. There are people from all over the world. You heard them cheer when that gilded easel was originally put out with that birth notice on it about a half hour or so ago.

Let me get you some of the people who have gathered here in front of Buckingham Palace. Melissa and Jack, I believe, both from London. Melissa, what a great day.

MELISSA, SPECTATOR AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE: Yes, it's very exciting. I mean, you don't get to witness this many times in your life.

ANDERSON: (INAUDIBLE) it's a baby boy?

MELISSA: Yes. ANDERSON: Did you want a boy? Not you, obviously -

(LAUGHTER)

MELISSA: (INAUDIBLE)

ANDERSON: Jack, you're from London. It's a great day not just for London but Great Britain.

JACK, SPECTATOR AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE: Yes, it's great. I mean, everybody loves everything to do with the royal family. Everyone is really excited here.

ANDERSON: Have you got to actually get to the gilded easel, which is behind us here?

JACK: We haven't yet. It's impossible (INAUDIBLE)

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: Aw, listen, I'm holding you up. Why don't you guys try and get down there? I'll move on. I know we have got some ladies here, one from South Carolina.

ERIN: I'm from South Carolina. My name is Erin, and it's very exciting. We brought my daughter and some friends over here. It's been wonderful. I remember watching Charles and Diana getting married as a teenager, and now to see her son have a baby, it's magical. So we've had a great time.

ANDERSON: Did you come to the U.K. on purpose or are you just here by chance?

ERIN: It was, as you say, a holiday and it just kind of coincided. So it all just worked so well. We were over at the pub having your infamous fish and chips and said let's get in a cab, come over here. And we're here. And then CNN asked us -

ANDERSON: You've got it all!

ERIN: And we were like, why not?!

ANDERSON: Why wouldn't you want to be on CNN on a day like this?

Sarah is from London. Sarah, what were you hoping for? A girl or a boy?

SARAH: A girl. We thought maybe Alexandra. But now we're speculating boys names, so maybe a James or Alfred.

ANDERSON: Thinking maybe an Alfred? That's an outside charge (ph). I think it's probably James or Charles. People are looking at -

SARAH: Yeah, maybe. But that's probably one of the middle names because they always have so many names. So yeah.

ANDERSON: Fantastic, fantastic. What would you like it to be called?

ERIN: I actually agreed with Sarah. I thought it was going to be a girl. So anything - as I say, as a mom, as long as it's healthy, has all ten fingers and toes, anything would be wonderful.

ANDERSON: Fantastic! (INAUDIBLE), where are you from?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from New York City.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from New Jersey.

ANDERSON: Excellent. We have a bunch of Americans here tonight.

SARAH: New York as well.

ANDERSON: Oh fantastic! How does it feel to be in London today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was quite an experience. I mean, I was about to leave this weekend, and I just was able to catch this at the last minute.

ANDERSON: Excellent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had nothing to do tonight, so we said we might as well come by and see what happens. And I'm glad we did!

ANDERSON: John, they had nothing to do, so they thought we'll just come down to Buckingham Palace and see the announcement of what you said is a once in a generation. This is third in line to the throne, this baby boy, eight pounds six, born about five hours ago now.

Now, the question you were asking Max is will we see the happy couple tonight? Probably not, although Prince William may make an announcement. And then the next question is will we see the queen, who we know is in residence here tonight? So, let me ask the crowd whether they would like to see Queen Elizabeth II tonight? Would you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've already seen Queen Elizabeth during the (INAUDIBLE) parade.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I checked it off my list.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a little queen that I carry around to all the countries I visit, and I want to get a photo with her and the queen.

ANDERSON: I'm afraid they probably won't see Her Majesty tonight. I'm told by royal protocol that the happy couple are most likely to bring the baby here before the queen leaves for her holiday in Scotland in Balmoral. And do remember last week when asked about the imminent arrival of her new great granddaughter or (INAUDIBLE) son, she said, "I'm looking forward to it, but I hope it will come soon because I'm also looking forward to my holiday." Well, now she can go to bed tonight and she can leave for Balmoral sometime soon.

BERMAN: So she can have her heir and her holiday, too. Becky Anderson outside Buckingham Palace. I think it's so fitting that you found some Americans there. This of course a big deal over here in the United States, too. A lot of Americans watching this very, very closely.

And we do have a programming note. Of course, it is the birth of an heir to the British throne. Tonight CNN takes you to England for interviews with rare relatives and close friends. You need to watch this. It's "WILL & KATE PLUS ONE" tonight at 10:00 Eastern time.

And when will we come back here, when will we find out the future king's name? And will that name have a family connection? We'll tell you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Live pictures right now over London, that is a very happy city inside the happy city, a very happy royal couple, now the parents of a very healthy royalty baby, 8 pounds, 6 ounces. It's a boy. We know that but what's its name?

That is the subject of a lot of speculation right now. Pam Redmond Satran is the co-author of ten books of baby names and the co-founder of nameberry.com. She joins me now. This has got to be the biggest baby naming story of the year, if not a decade, if not a generation. The first thing we know is this baby boy will have a lot more than just one name.

PAMELA REDMOND SATRAN, CO-FOUNDER, NAMEBERRY.COM: Right. I think we're guessing four is probably the number that Princess Diana so famously tripped over when she married Prince Charles.

BERMAN: A lot of names, a lot to remember right there. How much pressure do you think that this young couple will have to go with a traditional name that's part of royal history? I keep hearing George and James.

SATRAN: Well, I think it's a given that the name will be a traditional name. I have been really impressed with how they have managed to both follow tradition and make things their own. So I have a dark horse idea. I have the sense that the name is going to be Arthur.

BERMAN: Arthur. There's a lot of history with that name. That's a name a lot of people know about when it comes to British history you might say.

SATRAN: It's one of the middle names of both Charles and William. It's a name that does break tradition because all of the kings since the 1700s have been named either George or William or Edward. So George would seem to be the logical choice, but I think they're going to do something a little bit different.

BERMAN: Do you think there will be any tie to Diana's family of course? It is a boy so it's not going to is Diana in his name you would expect, but what about perhaps the Spencer name?

SATRAN: A name that we've been running a contest where people have been guessing the names and some people have guessed Spencer, which I think is interesting although I'm afraid that I don't think it is going to happen. If I couple have a girl in the future, I can see Diana being part of the name, but I don't think it's going to happen in this case.

BERMAN: Now one thing we know right now is we're not going to hear tonight. We're going to have to wait to find out this baby's name. How long do you think we'll have to wait?

SATRAN: Again, I think they're not going to make us wait a week or two, as has happened in the past. My sense is that they'll announce the name when they leave the hospital. Whether that's tomorrow or would I think it might more likely be the day after tomorrow, I think we're going to hear sooner rather than later.

BERMAN: Hang on for one second, Pam. I want to bring in Victoria Arbiter, who is a royal analyst for us, knows the ins and outs of the royal family. Victoria, I do want to ask you because Pam brought up an interesting notion, the name, Arthur. It would be have some ties to history, of course, with a twist, wouldn't it?

VICTORIA ARBITER, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: It would be the history with a twist. And of course, there is the legend of King Arthur, which has a little mistake to all of it, but Pam was right. William and his father do share Arthur as a middle name as did the queen's father. It was his middle name and I think Arthur has made a major comeback in the U.K. It's kind of cool again and trendy but without being celebrity weird and still having that element of tradition to it.

All of the royal family, the type of members of the royal family right now that were born into the family have dynastic names. Names with a sense of history, continuity, William and Kate by nature are very traditional. So I think we're going to see something that we have seen before in the royal history, but there actually are a plethora of names between all the princes and princesses, kings and queens that have gone before.

BERMAN: Victoria, just to be clear, no matter what the first name of the baby is when this baby boy eventually becomes king 50 years from now or so, he doesn't necessarily have to take that first name as his royal name per se, does he?

ARBITER: No, he doesn't necessarily, neither the queen's uncle, Edward VIII, or her father, George VI, use their actual first given names as their kingly name. When the queen became queen and said what name are you going to take? She said, well, mine of course. I think when she named Charles. She was thinking that he would take his name. I guess, really when it comes to it, that's the decision of personal choice that he'll make. So I think they'll probably name it hoping that the baby will use their first names as king, but there are no set rules. It's not a given.

BERMAN: Victoria Arbiter, Pamela Redmond Satran, the name talk, of course, just one more aspect we are waiting in the coming days. Thank you so much for being with us. We will be talking to you as this develops.

We'll have much more on this news. The royal baby has been born, a baby boy, 8 pounds, 6 ounces. Live pictures of Buckingham Palace. We'll take you there when we come back.

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BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone. Live pictures right now over the city of London where there is an heir. Third in line to the throne, a baby boy, 8 pounds, 6 ounces and for the first time you're getting reaction from the proud father, William, the Duke of Cambridge. Let's go to Max Foster right now outside the hospital where that baby is now resting comfortably. Max, what are we hearing from the prince?

FOSTER: Well, it's a very simple line. It's less than a sentence. "We could not be happier," says the Duke of Cambridge after the birth of his new son. We'd been told he'll be spending the evening at the hospital tonight. Presumably that means he's staying overnight tonight with the Duchess and his new boy and they'll be out in the morning. I think that's probably going to be the last update we're going to have tonight. Prince William saying, "we could not be happier."

BERMAN: The sentiment of many, many fathers at the birth of their first child. Of course, he'll be spending the night at the hospital, which is a ritual, an uncomfortable one for many new fathers. Thank you so much, Max, outside the hospital. Let's go to Christiane Amanpour who is near Buckingham Palace for more reaction from there, a very, very happy city tonight.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, John. The crowds you've seen outside Buckingham Palace and you're seeing all these fantastic aerial shots where so many of these major landmarks have been dolled up in red, white and blue. We saw the bridge in blue, the great telecom tower proclaiming it's a boy. Not far from where I am, which is just up the Malle they call it, from Buckingham Palace, the fountains have turned blue.

And we understand that tomorrow is when the acclamation by multi-gun salute, by bells, will start happening. That will be tomorrow sort of mid-day, England time, there will be a multiple gun salute from Green Park, not from where I am right now, and there will be bells that will be peeling from Westminster Abby and St. Paul's Cathedral.

Now, the U.S. (inaudible) who is in charge of American affairs right now here in London has also put out a statement saying that they could not be happier for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcoming the latest member of the royal family and saying obviously Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge are held in high esteem and great affection in the United States, as are so many of the royals held in such high esteem and affection in the United States, including the first family.

She was remembering how William and Kate as they are affectionately known received such a warm welcome in California during their visit shortly after their marriage. I'm joined here by Katie Nichol who is our royal correspondent and watcher. They put off having a family for about a couple of years. It was much quicker when Diana and Charles had William.

KATIE NICHOL, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Within a year for both the queen and Philip and also for Diana and Charles, and you were just talking about that tour of California. I was on that tour and they carried out two major overseas tours. They were here representing the queen for the diamond jubilee celebration, for the Olympics. They've been really busy.

The one thing that Kate knew when she married into the royal family is that actually duty has to come before self. You remember that very famous engagement interview. They both talked about wanting a big family. In fact, only recently William said he wanted two children. I'm sure there will be many wonderful little baby Cambridges, but they had to put things on hold.

AMANPOUR: You have said that she's been a remarkable woman who has become an extraordinary royal.

NICHOL: She has taken to it. It's like she was born to be a royal. The fact that she's delivered a male heir this afternoon really just goes to prove the point that she is a royal.

AMANPOUR: Having said that, had it been a girl, she would have been queen. It does not take away from the happiness and joy many people feel here in England and around the world as well. Let's not forget, this is not just an antiquated event. This royal family brings people to this country. This royal family is what attracts people to Great Britain, what brings the tourists.

NICHOL: They've been here gathering, I've been reporting for you all over the weekend. It's like a tourism hot spot here. Everyone wants to come and have a glimpse. I think it's because the British royal family is so unique. They're wonderful and eccentric and fabulous and now we cherish them to our heart and we have a new addition to celebrate.

AMANPOUR: Those counting dollars and cents are very happy to keep pointing out that this birth, like so many of the other royal events, is really a huge windfall. They think they'll spend something like 90 million pounds just toasting the royal baby so -- John.

BERMAN: A birth that's a windfall of course. Every birth of course, Christiane, is a blessing.

AMANPOUR: Indeed it is.

BERMAN: Christiane Amanpour, thank you so much for us right now. That is it for THE LEAD. I'm John Berman filling in for Jake Tapper. Our royal baby coverage continues with Lord Wolf Blitzer, the duke of "THE SITUATION ROOM" coming up.