Catherine, pregnant Duchess of Cambridge, names a Princess Cruises ship 'Royal Princess' at Ocean Terminal, Southampton Docks, Hampshire, Britain, June 13, 2013.
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Kate's pregnancy has magnified that effect, and her baby will come into the world charged with continuing the royal revamp--and will be equally able to do so whether a boy or a girl. British lawmakers have finally anchored gender equality in the royal succession. Every decision the Cambridges make--from the manner of the infant's birth to the balance they strike between coddling and discipline--will reveal something of their strategy for renewing the family brand. Yet these decisions will determine more than just the future of the monarchy and are set to reverberate far beyond Britain. They will shape our consumer choices. The British consultancy Centre for Retail Research predicts that the U.K. alone stands to benefit from a $380 million boost from economic activity sparked by the birth. Palace officials, who were besieged by international press and deluged with messages from well-wishers ahead of the Cambridges' wedding, say the baby is generating more attention by far. (Good-luck cards and even a U.S.-postmarked parcel of baby clothes have arrived at the Duchess of Cambridge pub too.) In transcending their royal status to become international celebrities, William and Kate find themselves role models for parents everywhere, their successes and failures to be judged, ultimately, by the successes and failures of their child.
Still in the womb, Baby Cambridge has already developed into a figure of global influence. So what lies in store for the soon-to-be third in line to the British throne--and what might that infant have in store for us?
Kate Expectations
Days before Kardashian beat Kate to the maternity ward on June 15, the reality-TV star's partner Kanye West rebuffed public interest in the happy event. "This is my baby. This isn't America's baby," said the musician. William and Kate, though infinitely more reserved than Kimye, know they'll have to share their offspring--and that, like it or not, they'll be participating in an open-ended reality show--Keeping Up With the Cambridges.
Once Kate's labor starts, news organizations will be notified almost as fast as the attending doctors. At almost the first wail, officials are primed to break the news to the Prime Minister's office at 10 Downing Street. Royal websites and social-media feeds will keep pace with the stork, and in a piece of theater, the birth notice will also be conveyed by car from St. Mary's, Paddington--the central London hospital expected to host the nativity in its private Lindo Wing--to Buckingham Palace, where it will be displayed on an easel in the forecourt. "William and Kate recognize it will be a moment of national celebration," says a palace official.