London - News of the royal birth brought Twitter close to meltdown on Monday as millions from around the world shared their excitement and offered congratulations.
Before the baby’s birth was even announced, an incredible 487million Twitter users had viewed posts about the Duchess of Cambridge going into labour on what is thought to be one of the busiest days the social network had ever experienced.
By 8pm on Monday, more than 500 000 tweets were sent mentioning the royal baby, according to social media monitoring firm Netbase – and after the birth was announced at 8.29pm, the number rocketed higher by the second.
But just 41 percent of the posts came from the UK. The US accounted for 29 percent, followed by Canada and Australia, and two-thirds were made by women.
In a break with tradition, the news of the labour and the birth were also officially announced on Twitter.
A tweet from Clarence House on Monday morning read: “Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London in the early stages of labour.” The message was retweeted, or shared among users, nearly 7 000 times.
Later, as the paper bulletin was posted on an easel confirming the baby’s birth, a further post read: “Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm.” This was retweeted more than 13 000 times, and marked the first time the traditional announcement of a royal birth has been paired with a release through social media.
Within hours of the Palace’s announcement that the Duchess had gone into labour, the term ‘#royalbaby’ had become the most popular topic on the UK site, while the words “Kate Middleton” were a top discussion in the US.
At least seven topics relating to the royal baby jumped to the top of the “trending” list, and among the most popular was speculation over the baby’s name.
And as soon as the birth was announced on Monday night, celebrities and politicians rushed to tweet their messages of congratulations to the Duke and Duchess. From model Cara Delevingne and singer Cheryl Cole to Olympic diver Tom Daley and Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the good wishes came thick and fast.
Prime Minister David Cameron wrote: “I’m delighted for the Duke and Duchess now their son has been born. The whole country will celebrate. They’ll make wonderful parents.”
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg wrote: “Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Good news to make the whole country smile.”
The Archbishop of York John Sentamu wrote: “Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The joy and hope of the Royal baby boy is a great gift of God.”
As the birth was announced, Stephen Fry wrote: “The official easel. We really are a marvellously bonkers country.” Earlier, noticing that the word “labour” was trending on the website, he wrote: “Labour has never been so popular” - adding: “My guess is that it will be a baby.”
Piers Morgan also joined the labour discussions, guessing: “PREDICTION: A boy, called George, weighing 8lbs 2oz #MysticMorgan.”
The Mumsnet discussion forum was also dominated by news of the baby. More than 700 messages were posted within hours yesterday on the single thread “Kate’s in labour: royal baby on way”.
Users were quick to advise and sympathise with every stage of the process, with one posting: “I feel sorry for her. I really did not want anyone except my mum and [husband] to know I was in labour and just wanted to get on with it.
“It must be awful to think that the world is all imagining her huffing and puffing.”
Elsewhere on the internet, the baby had his own Wikipedia page before he was even born. Entitled “Royal Baby: Child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge”, the entry had been viewed more than 95 000 times. A number of spoof Twitter accounts also sprung up under the name “Royal Baby” or “Baby Cambridge”. - Daily Mail