In the summer of 2013, press representatives from all over the world camped for weeks in front of the private wing of London's St. Mary's Hospital. There the first child of Prince William and his wife Kate should be born. On July 22, 2013 at 4:24 p.m., her son Prince George finally saw the light of day. Less than three hours later, William and Kate were at the gates of the hospital and presented their newborn to the public.
The man who oversaw the birth of the little prince was Sir Marcus Setchell. Since 1990 he worked as a gynecologist in the royal household. He had postponed his retirement to support Kate through her first pregnancy and the birth of George. In an interview with the British newspaper "The Telegraph", the 79-year-old admits that he has seen many births in the course of his career, but that of a future king was something special.
"I think when Prince George was born, I tried to remind myself that this is just another baby whose parents are probably going through the same emotions, pain and discomfort as all the people who I take care of," says Setchell.
He reports that Kate came to the clinic at 5 a.m. and was in labor for almost 12 hours. He himself managed to get into the building unnoticed through a side entrance so that he could not be photographed by the waiting photographers.
"The press was there weeks beforehand, so I knew what it was like. But I managed to get in through the dealer entrance. After that we were asked not to go out until the birth was announced. Then when the three of us came out , I stretched out my arms in shock at the battery of flashing lights - kind of a horror, and then they took a picture of it," Satchell says.
In fact, these images were remembered of him stepping outside the hospital with his arms spread wide and his two colleagues, Guy Thorpe-Beeston and Alan Farthing. Farthing took over as chief gynecologist that same year and later assisted with Thorpe-Beeston in the births of Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis - the other two children of William and Kate.
Sir Marcus Setchell reports that there has not yet been an official meeting between him and Prince George. But he was happy to see the nine-year-old at the tennis tournament in Wimbledon last year. "It was a real pleasure," says Setchell. The doctor has been a passionate tennis player since his student days and the royal family is also considered to be a lover of the sport, especially Princess Kate.
In an interview with the "Telegraph", Setchell not only talks about his experiences with the younger royals, but also raves about Queen Elizabeth II, who died last year: "She was absolutely fabulous. She was such a role model for managers. She really had Leadership skills, but not in a brash way like politicians. She was very easy to get along with. The people who were lucky enough to know her know how nice she was."
Quelle: "The Telegraph"
