How the royal baby's arrival will be announced

The first the world will know of the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's child is when a royal aide leaves the main entrance of the Lindo wing at St Mary's hospital bearing a typed medical bulletin signed by doctors at the birth. The aide will take the bulletin to Buckingham Palace by car with police outriders.

The announcement of the baby's sex and other details will be made by the age-old custom of placing a proclamation on a dark wooden frame on an ornate easel behind the railings on Buckingham Palace's forecourt. No such details will be given until the Queen and other members of the couple's families have been informed.

The brief bulletin, on palace-headed foolscap paper, usually confirms the sex of the baby and the weight, but gives few other details. The easel will be the same one used to announce Prince William's birth in 1982.

Immediately after the announcement is posted on the easel, Kensington Palace aides will confirm details of the bulletin by email, and it is likely details will also be posted on the Buckingham Palace website.

Royal births are registered in the ordinary way, though the home secretary traditionally notifies important officials in Britain, including the lord mayor of London, and officials in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Governors general overseas are usually informed by the Queen's private secretary.

Destined for a lifetime of photocalls, the baby is likely to make its debut on the steps of the hospital on departure, though exactly how much of the child will be visible remains to be seen. Thereafter it is customary for photographs to be released in the early weeks.

As to a name, it depends. It took Charles and Diana several days to announce William's name, though Harry was named immediately.