Those of you who bet that it would be a little princess have just lost your money. The royal baby has been born, and it's a boy, the Guardian reports. "Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4:24pm," Kensington Palace announced in a statement about four hours after the fact. The statement is light in the details department (no name yet), but adds that "the Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth" of the child, who weighs 8lbs, 6oz. Both the royal family and Kate's not-as-royal Middleton family are "delighted with the news," the statement reads. Mom and baby are doing well, but won't leave the hospital until tomorrow.
The official notice, signed by the royal gynecologist and delivered from the hospital to the palace, has been placed on a gold easel outside Buckingham Palace, per tradition; the same easel was used to announce Prince William's birth in 1982. In the past, the easel served as the formal announcement of a royal birth, but the royal family decided to issue a press release first this time around, in order to carry things out "as quickly and simply as possible," palace officials explain. As for Prince Charles, he's quite pleased: "Both my wife and I are overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild," he says in a statement. "It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine." (Click for more on the swanky maternity ward where Kate gave birth.)