Royal baby buzz: how social media has changed the traditional announcement

Tweet, tweet!

When we saw a tweet this morning about how dilated the Duchess of Cambridge was, we had to stop and think for a minute. Was it a just a joke? Or was it a legitimate account from some person who somehow had way too many details? Welcome to the digital age, folks, where the latter could actually be possible.

The last royal birth that the British monarch welcomed was back in the 1980s when Molly Ringwald was the ‘It’ girl and your crimper worked wonders to give you a faux afro.

Also see: Kate Middleton is in labour! What happens now?

But oh, how the times have changed. The royal baby announcement won’t necessarily rock the airwaves anymore. We are in full swing of the digital age where information travels faster than you can type “OMG! TTYL!" and you have cleverly set up an RSS feed for the inbox on your smartphone.

The royal baby announcement will follow typical protocol starting with informing the monarch and senior members of the royal family according to Metro. Back in the 1982, Prince Charles called his mother from the hospital after Prince William was born, reports the Guardian.

Soon after, an official bulletin with the Palace header will be couriered to the Buckingham Palace where it will be posted on a wooden easel behind the front gates. This will serve as the public announcement and will indicate the gender and time of birth, and will be signed by Kate's doctors.

Also see: How royals, Middletons are waiting out the royal baby's birth

Meanwhile, a web post and tweet will be made from the Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) Twitter account.

If that isn't enough, many media outlets are taking note: this is the first royal baby to own a hashtag - a true sign that we are in a new age.

Now, we know that social media is giving more and more people faster access to the royal baby details but one thing is still unclear: When will the Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge announce the baby's name? Prince William's name was kept a secret for seven days and the Prince of Wales was a mystery for a month. And will it be a tweet announcement, Facebook post, or formal nation address?

When do you think the baby will be born? And will it be a boy or girl?

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