KATE, the wife of Prince William, gave birth to a boy at a hospital in London yesterday, the third child for the British royal couple and now fifth in line to the throne.

Kensington Palace said the baby was born at 1001 GMT and weighs 3.9 kg. William was present for the birth at St. Mary’s Hospital in west London where their other two children, George and Charlotte, were also born, it added.

“The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news,” Kensington Palace said.

“Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.”

The new prince is Queen Elizabeth’s sixth great-grandchild and fifth-in-line to the British throne behind siblings George, 4, his 2-year-old sister Charlotte, their father William, and grandfather and heir Prince Charles.

A 2013 change to the law means the boy will not supplant his older sister Charlotte in the line of succession. Before that change younger males would take precedence over older female siblings.

William’s younger brother Harry, who marries U.S. actress Meghan Markle next month, falls to sixth on the list.

Kensington Palace said the name of the new royal would be announced in due course.

In keeping with tradition, the official announcement of the birth will be made by placing a notice on an easel in the forecourt of the queen’s London home, Buckingham Palace.

William and Kate met as students at St. Andrews University in Scotland. They got married in a pageant-packed ceremony at Westminster Abbey in April 2011 and have since become well-known across the globe.

The couple now live at Kensington Palace and last year William gave up his day job as an air ambulance pilot to concentrate full time on royal duties.

(SD-Agencies)