Born at 9.14pm with an ‘interesting pair of hands’: Queen’s letter to her music teacher on birth of King Charles at Buckingham Palace 75 years ago today when policeman announced ‘It’s a Prince’ to delighted crowd outside
Little Prince Charles, described as a ‘truly beautiful baby’, was born 75 years ago today in the palace where he now resides as monarch.
The future king’s arrival at Buckingham Palace at 9.14pm was the first royal birth at the London residence in 62 years.
The then-Princess Elizabeth had endured a difficult 30-hour labor before undergoing a caesarean section in a makeshift maternity ward in the palace’s Belgian Suite.
Shortly afterwards, the thousands of Britons who had gathered outside the palace gates received the news they had been waiting for.
After the royal page Stanley Childs had just told him, the police inspector on duty said to the crowd with his hands crossed, “It’s a prince.”
Moments later, there were cheers as the news spread through the crowd.
Prince Philip, who was involved in an anxious game of squash while his wife was in labour, quickly returned to the palace where he opened a bottle of champagne.
The Queen told her music teacher in subsequent weeks that Charles had an “interesting pair of hands for a baby” – a fact that has been commented on in recent years.
Little Prince Charles, described as a ‘truly beautiful baby’, was born 75 years ago today in the palace where he now resides as monarch. The king’s arrival at Buckingham Palace at 9.14pm was the first royal birth at the London residence in 62 years. Above: Charles with the then Princess Elizabeth at his christening in December 1948
The Queen told her music teacher in subsequent weeks that Charles had an “interesting pair of hands for a baby” – a fact that has been commented on in recent years. Above: Charles with his mother in 1949
The heir apparent’s birth was the first at Buckingham Palace since that of Princess Patricia, the daughter of Queen Victoria’s third son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.
The Belgian Suite would later be used for the arrival of both Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
After playing his squash game, Philip was drying off after a swim when a footman informed him of Charles’ arrival.
Along with the champagne, he greeted the Queen after she woke up from the anesthetic with a bouquet of red roses and carnations – her favorites.
Until Charles’s arrival, it was traditional for the Home Secretary to be present to witness the birth of the heir to the throne.
But this tradition was abandoned, marking the first time since the 18th century that no government official was present at the birth of an heir.
The Queen told her music teacher in a letter: ‘The baby is very sweet and we are extremely proud of him.
Crowds gather outside Buckingham Palace in November 1948 as they await news of Charles’ birth
The Ny Breaking reports on the king’s birth at Buckingham Palace. Crowds gathered outside to await news of the royal birth
The front page of the Ny Breaking after Charles’s baptism, which took place on December 15, 1948
‘He’s got an interesting pair of hands for a baby.
‘They are quite large, but with fine, long fingers, very different from mine and certainly different from his father’s.
“It’ll be interesting to see what they become.”
When Philip was asked what his son looked like, he said with characteristic bluntness: “A plum pudding.”
Outside the palace gates the crowd shouted fruitlessly ‘we want Philip!’.
When he didn’t emerge, they sang lullabies.
In keeping with tradition, the lights in the Trafalgar Square fountain were changed to blue to indicate a boy.
Troops around the capital fired ceremonial gun salutes as the bells of Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral tolled.
Queen Mary, Charles’s great-grandmother, was brought to the princess’s chambers to see the little baby.
When she then left the palace to return to Marlborough House, the excited crowd rushed forward and almost stopped her car.
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip posed for an official photo with Prince Charles during his christening
The future queen holds her son as she poses for a photo at his christening with her grandmother Queen Mary and father King Charles
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, holds baby Charles in her arms during his christening
A little Prince Charles sleeps in the arms of his great-grandmother, Queen Mary, during his baptism
The Ny Breaking reported how police had to ask jubilant well-wishers for ‘a little silence’.
When that didn’t dampen their spirits, two palace officials came out and said, “Princess Elizabeth wants to get some rest. Prince Philip is with her and there will be nothing more tonight.”
Charles was baptized on December 15 in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace during a service officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher.
Charles’ grandparents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, were present at the family affair.
They beamed in front of a family photo with Charles in his flowing white dress and Philip behind them.
The official photos were taken by Sterling Henry Nahum, who also took the official photos for the wedding of the Queen and Prince Philip.
Charles spent the first year of his life at his parents’ rented house, Windlesham Moor in Surrey
The Queen and Philip moved in shortly after their wedding in 1947 and remained there until the end of 1949
Charles, then just nine months old, is seen sitting on the lawn at Windlesham in July 1949
Prince Philip holds his eldest son in his arms in Windlesham as Princess Elizabeth looks on. The photo was taken in July 1949
An aerial view of Windlesham Moor in Surrey, the country home of the then Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh
Charles spent the first year of his life at his parents’ rented house, Windlesham Moor in Surrey.
Photos show him sitting in a playpen on the property’s grounds and playing on the lawn with his parents.
Windlesham was six miles from Windsor Castle, and not far from Bagshot Park, now home to Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.
The Queen and Philip moved in shortly after their wedding in 1947 and remained there until the end of 1949.