Royal baby – praag.org

Russians claim royal baby birth a fake

Kate Middleton could not have just given birth when she emerged from the Lindo Wing on Saturday, according to Russian media.

The Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda carried the claims which were made by various Russian women.

They said that it was “impossible” for the Duchess of Cambridge to look the way she did immediately after the birth, also questioning whether the baby was in fact born days before.

One woman said: “If she really gave birth naturally, it was surely some days ago.

Another added: “She gave birth three days ago. They reported it only now. Look at the baby – she does not look like a newborn at all.

“She is at least three days old. There is nothing which would help a woman, even if she gave birth with the help of best doctors, stand up five hours after giving birth – and leave the clinic on her feet.”

Others claimed that Kate Middleton had not given birth to the new princess herself.

One said: “It was a surrogate mother who gave birth but not her. Kate must have been wearing a fake belly showing to the people that she was pregnant.

“It is just not real to walk yourself several hours after birth and wave to the public in white dress.

“If you ever gave birth, try to recall yourself in three or four hours later.

“Even if the birth was easy, women just want to sleep and sleep for several hours. This is a fairy tale of a family of show offs.”

“She did not give birth, I am sure,” said one.

“There is no special maternal look in her eyes – this natural thing is not visible. Look at Diana. This Kate is just an actress from Buckingham Palace theatre. She never gave birth!.

Another said: “I thought this too – that the baby is at least 7-10 days old.

“First of all, she is too big for a newborn, and secondly, the face is smooth and pale.”

Actually, a few days earlier, on 28 April, or Tuesday night, a tweet announcing the birth of new baby “Princess Charlotte” was later denounced by Kensington Palace as a “fake”.

Despite no news having been announced of the Duchess of Cambridge going into labour, news organisations and well-wishers alike then leapt upon the “fake” news, adding more credibility to the Russian claims.

One news source even elaborated, saying: “Four days overdue with her second child, the Duchess of Cambridge was induced but fortunately the delivery was without complications.”

Is that you baby Cambridge?

“People see what they think they want to see,” explains a director, who has been creating her famous faux celebrity shoots for 15 years, after a scrumage in a London park to see the “royal baby”.

“There is a wall of myth around royals and A-list celebrities . We see them on magazine covers so often that we think we know them intimately, and we want to learn more. I like to burst that bubble a little.”

We are rabbits in the headlights, a gold strike in the Klondike, the centre of a British Lions scrum. Paparazzo-style cameras zoom in from everywhere, mobile phones are held aloft, mobs of screaming tourists in bikinis descend, doting abaya-ed mummies prove unable to resist a peek, even large Swedish males with plaster casts rush towards the pram.

We circle it and prepare to make a stand.

“Does this happen often?” I ask the duchess, who seems more embarrassed than distressed. “Well, you never know how people are going to react,” she says, with a surprising Essex twang.

And with that the couple trot off, rolling the pram and smiling at the shrieking crowd, as a German TV crew documents their every step and a slender, elegant woman in black calls out instructions.

The wave of royal mania recedes as sharply as a turning spring tide (though the giggles intensify), the 100-plus fans suddenly realising their eyes have deceived them. “Lookalike!” the cries go up. These lucky few have just been subject to a walking, talking Madame Tussauds show: an Alison Jackson photoshoot.

How we have managed to fool strangers into believing the royal baby has not only been born, but that the royal couple would potter outside Kensington Palace without so much as a bodyguard, is staggering – but not to Jackson.

And she succeeds in making us suspend our disbelief at apparent shots of George Bush struggling with a Rubik’s cube in the Oval Office or the queen on the loo – and actively enjoy our voyeurism. – The Daily Telegraph

Royal baby will boost British economy

Not boosting the British economy... — Mugabe visiting the Queen: Not boosting the British economy…

Kate Middleton and Prince William are expecting their first child within days, and U.K. and global media outlets are gearing up for what is expected to be the biggest royals story of the year.

The royal birth will directly boost U.K. retail sales by around $367 million (£243 million), according to an estimate by the Centre for Retail Research in Nottingham, England. The figure covers all of July and August.

Festivities-related expenses will lead the way with an estimated $131 million (£87 million) in additional business thanks to the royal baby, according to the research. That includes increased spending on alcohol ($94 million, or £62 million), with the group predicting three million bottles of champagne and sparkling wine will be opened across the country, mostly in informal celebrations, to celebrate the baby.

“We expect plenty of people, not necessarily fervent royalists, to welcome the happy event in a demonstrative way,” the center said in a report.

Souvenirs and toys tied to the baby could bring in $121 million (£80 million), a figure that includes items sold overseas, it estimated.

And spending on royals- and royal baby-related books, DVDs and media could reach $115 million (£76 million), according to the Centre for Retail Research.

Beyond sales within the U.K., sales abroad of souvenirs, toys, books and DVD/media could also add to the economic impact to the tune of $56 million (£37 million), according to the center. That estimate includes overseas sales by U.K. online retailers.

“There is considerable interest in this event across the world, but particularly in North America, parts of Europe and Australia and New Zealand,” the center’s report said. “The Cambridges are seen as a “good news” story and surprisingly normal.

Bookies and betters are also looking to make money off the royal baby.

Bookmaker William Hill says the royal baby betting market might see $150,000 spent on various bets – from the gender and name of the baby to its hair color.

But that would be a minimal sum compared to the hundreds of millions of pounds placed on Britain’s annual Grand National horse race.

“Since the announcement that the Duchess was pregnant, there has been considerable interest in her changing shape, the sex of the baby, what new things she is wearing, as well as the baby products that are being acquired,” according to the report from the Centre for Retail Research.

It projects that in the months after the baby is born money spent on strollers could rise by 13 percent, or $50 million (£33 million) “as new parents “trade up” to more exclusive baby carriages following a trend that is expected to be set by the royals.”

Said the center: “The lucky manufacturer can expect a similar boost in sales to that achieved by iCandy Peach when Victoria Beckham adopted one for her daughter Harper.”

Observers have already spoken of the “Kate Effect” in such areas as fashion as items that Middleton wears tend to see a sales boost.

Similar gains are also expected to be made by the manufacturers of the royal baby’s clothes, crib and other products associated with the baby and its parents, according to the center. – The Hollywood Reporter