The royal family confirmed Monday that the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, is “in the early stages of labor” at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. Middleton reportedly did not require a police escort for the trip from her home in Clarence House to the hospital. She arrived around 6 a.m. local time, and within hours the hospital had begun to be surrounded by well-wishers. Camera crews, reporters and photographers have staked out space in front of the hospital for weeks, some employing ladders, despite temperatures in the high 80s. The couple reportedly slipped in undetected through a side entrance.

Baby Will Join the Royal Family

Details about the pregnancy have been kept largely under wraps, with no word on whether the child is a boy or a girl. British bookmakers report that speculative betting on the child’s name had soared since the announcement, with “Charlotte” as a favorite. The formal announcement that a baby has been born will be made after a statement is driven by car from the hospital to Buckingham Palace.

The child will be the first for the duchess and her husband, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. The baby’s formal title will be Prince or Princess of Cambridge. The child will be third in line for the British throne, regardless of its sex or that of subsequent children, behind its father and Prince Charles. The child’s uncle, Prince Harry, will fall to fourth in the line of succession. The private obstetric wing of the hospital routinely charges more than $15,000 for the combined consultancy and normal delivery facilities.

Two senior royal gynecologists, Marcus Setchell and Alan Farthing, will join the medical team in charge of the delivery. The rest of the royal family has made a point to stick to planned schedules, even as the word of their impending addition whipped around the world via the Internet, keeping planned official meetings and public appearances. The parents met at the University of St. Andrews in the early 2000s, and their relationship culminated in a royal wedding in 2011, itself a major media event.

Media Coverage Intense but Less Intrusive

The birth is anticipated to draw unprecedented coverage in the media, and the royal family kicked off a carefully planned media strategy with a Twitter message confirming the duchess was in labor. ”Her royal highness the Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, in the early stages of labour,” said a message from the official residence of the royal couple.

St. Mary’s is the hospital where the baby’s father was born to Princess Diana in 1982. While coverage of the pregnancy and now the impending birth has been intense, it has also been unusually deferent as the British tabloid press is still recovering from heavy governmental and public scrutiny after a phone-hacking scandal that peaked in 2011.

Industries Hope for Economic Boost

Many hope that the birth will be an uplifting diversion for a country beset by economic austerity and a rare heat wave. British retail industries have been hoping the arrival of a royal baby would provide an economic boost. The race to commemorate the occasion with collectibles has already begun, despite the exact date and sex of the baby being unknown. In the hot weather outside the hospital, drinks companies gave out samples to the crowd in the hopes of associating their brand with the birth.