It's a prince! On Monday, the world welcomed the newest addition to the royal family and the future heir to England's throne. Palace officials confirmed the arrival of His Royal Highness the Prince of Cambridge, born at St. Mary's Hospital at 4:24 p.m. BST, and weighing 8 lbs. 6 oz..

"We could not be happier," said Prince William in a statement released by the palace shortly after the birth of his son. He was at his wife's side during her delivery, unlike past royals. Both mother and child are doing fine, the palace confirmed, and are expected to leave the hospital on Tuesday evening (not before 6 pm BST) or Wednesday morning.

"Mother, son and father are all doing well this morning" palace officials stated in a press release on Tuesday. The name of the future monarch will be released "in due course."

"We would like to thank the staff at the Lindo Wing and the whole hospital for the tremendous care the three of us have received," said the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in a statement released by the palace on Tuesday morning. "We know it has been a very busy period for the hospital and we would like to thank everyone — staff, patients and visitors — for their understanding during this time."

The newborn is officially called the Prince of Cambridge. He is the first royal to use that title in 100 years.

"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," according to the brief statement emailed to members of the press, many of whom have been camped outside of St. Mary's Hospital for days.

Prince Charles elaborated in a statement released through Clarence House. He said he is "enormously proud and happy to be a grandfather for the first time."

"Both my wife and I are overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild," he said. "It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy." The Duchess of Cornwall added: "It's wonderful for the grandfather. He's brilliant with children so he'll have a wonderful time."

Even President Barack Obama weighed in on the birth. "Michelle and I are so pleased to congratulate The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the joyous occasion of the birth of their first child," he said in a statement released through the White House. "We wish them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings. The child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations. Given the special relationship between us, the American people are pleased to join with the people of the United Kingdom as they celebrate the birth of the young prince."

The birth marks a new era for not only the first-time parents but also the extended royal family. As third in line to succeed to the throne after his grandfather Prince Charles and his father, Prince William, he's the first baby born under new succession laws.

The modernized bill amends a centuries-old policy, allowing the royal couple's first-born child the right to inherit the throne regardless of gender.

"Historically, this is huge," Victoria Arbiter, CNN's royal expert, told Yahoo! Shine. "In 60 or 70 years, this baby will be a monarch. It's also the first time since Queen Victoria that four generations of monarchs will be alive together."

It's been a long and sometimes rocky journey to the historic due date. Anticipation about the heir to the throne began well before the frenzy over rumored due dates and even before St. James's Palace officially announced the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy in December. From the first day of their marriage over two years ago, Prince William and Kate Middleton have had an audience of clock-watchers.

But they have never let public expectations determine their personal timing. After their 10-year courtship, the couple put off parenthood to enjoy their first year as a married couple. In that time,Middleton flexed her philanthropic muscles and stepped into her late mother-in-law's shoes as an international fashion arbiter. She also weathered a paparazzi scandal, prompting the palace to tighten its reins on the press.

When it came to the big announcement about the couple's first child, there was only so much theroyal family could control. (To quote the duchess herself, "Babies have their own agenda.") Before the official news broke, Middleton suffered acute morning sickness early in her first trimester. During her treatment at a central London hospital, pregnancy rumors reached a boiling point and the palace was forced to confirm what the public had long hoped.

"As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter," read the official statement from St. James's Palace.

The news rippled immediately through the retail industry. Collectibles marking the anticipated firstborn's arrival began rolling out by early 2013, as maternity designers elbowed each other for the chance to dress the mom-to-be. All told, the Centre for Retail Research predicts the royal birth could boost the British economy by nearly $400 million.

Tragedy overshadowed the worldwide excitement when two Australian radio hosts pranked Middleton's hospital and the nurse who took the hoax call later committed suicide.

It was a sobering reminder of the impact of royal coverage on human lives. For the future monarch, it's an unfortunate part of the inheritance and of an unfathomable burden of power.

Perhaps no one better understands this than the new dad, Prince William.

"Royal firstborns may get all the glory, but second born's enjoy more freedom," Diana, Princess of Wales, said after giving birth to her second son, Harry. "My second child will never have quite the same sort of pressure that poor William must face all his life."

That firstborn pressure includes carrying the HRH title and the legacy that goes with it. In the distant future, the newborn is poised to be the supreme governor of the Church of England, head of the U.K. armed forces, and the head of state in 16 countries.

"One day, this baby will be an influence across the globe, a leader, and someone millions of people will look up to," said Arbiter. For now, however, he has two main responsibilities: eating and sleeping, just like any other baby.

Read about before Kate gave Birth Below:

Kate and William like to do things their way, and the birth of their first child is proving, so far, to be no exception.

With no fanfare, no sirens and no police outriders, a dark Range Rover and a shiny new Audi nosed their way calmly through the traffic-free streets of London shortly after dawn this morning, covering the one and a half miles from Kensington Palace to the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's hospital in a couple of minutes.

Seated inside the cars were Kate Middleton, who was in the very early stages of labor, and her husband Prince William, who has been by her side all week as the royal couple have played cat and mouse with the press, successfully staying out of view as they moved from Kate's parents home in Berkshire to Kensington Palace.
The photographers, cameramen and news reporters who have been staking out positions outside the hospital for the past three weeks were all either asleep in their nearby hotel rooms or bleary in the early hours, and just one freelance snapper was alert enough to photograph the royal cars as they rolled up to a back entrance of the hospital.

No-one got a picture of Kate.

It wasn't until an hour and a half later that Kate's office at Kensington Palace finally issued a short statement confirming that Kate was actually in the hospital, and 'in the early stages of labor.'

The Duchess's location had been a mystery all week, with various conflicting rumors placing her either at her parents home in Bucklebury or at Kensington Palace, but her location was not pinned down for certain until her office at Kensington Palace issued the short, two-line statement this morning which read, in total:

"Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted this morning to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London in the early stages of labour. The Duchess travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital with The Duke of Cambridge."

And that was it.

The palace had previously indicated they would be making no further statements on the progress of the birth, however they did say this morning that her labor was 'progressing normally'.
The palace have also let it be known that Kate went into labor naturally, and was not induced, and they also subsequently confirmed that Kate and William had come from Kensington Palace.

Before Kate went into labor, Queen Elizabeth's cousin said she wasn't particularly excited for the baby's arrival.
If the palace is able to control the news the way it is seeking to, then the first indication that the Duchess has given birth will come when an aide leaves the hospital carrying a sheet of paper detailing the baby’s sex, weight and time of birth. This will be handed to a driver and taken to Buckingham Palace.

The public will find out the details of the future heir to the throne when the notice is placed on an easel in the forecourt of the Palace. The same easel was used to display the notice of Prince William's birth.

The news will not be relayed by the palace's twitter feed for approximately half an hour, sources say.

The palace is trying to strike a balance between maintaining the formality of the announcement, but also not having too many Twitter photos of the notice circulating before it announces it digitally.
Courtiers say that William is expected to come out of the hospital on his own and make a short statement to the media, and then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will leave hospital together with the baby and pose for pictures.
Kate is being attended by The Royal Household’s official surgeon-gynaecologist, Alan Farthing, the former fiancé of murdered television presenter Jill Dando, who is the consultant gynaecologist at St Mary’s and will be assisting with the labour.

Technically, however, the man in charge is the Queen’s own surgeon-gynaecologist, Marcus Setchell, who has postponed his retirement to oversee the delivery of Kate's baby.
Once the birth is confirmed, a gun salute will be fired in central London.

Diana spent just one night in the hospital, and Kate was said to be hoping to do the same—like most new mothers in the U.K. these days.

Street parties are expected to be thrown to celebrate the birth, which, if it does indeed happen today, will coincide with what is forecast to be the hottest day of the year so far.

Kate Middleton and Prince William Welcome Royal Baby ... It's a Boy! (UPDATED)