Why the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are Choosing a Private Hospital for their Third Child’s Birth

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with Prince Harry, are arguably the most relatable generation of the royal family.

Despite being born into royalty, they have managed to maintain a relatively normal life.

However, when it comes to giving birth, there are certain protocols that must be followed.

The couple's third child is due any day now and Kate is set to give birth at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington.

While the hospital is part of the National Health Service (NHS), the Lindo Wing is a private maternity unit within it.

According to the unit's most recent price list, it costs £5,900 to give birth in one of its normal rooms, with an additional £1,175 for any extra night's stay.

Many people have questioned why the NHS is not good enough to welcome a royal baby.

The Mirror's royal correspondent Victoria Murphy has a few theories as to why Kate has chosen to go private.

Speaking on the royal podcast pod Save the Queen, she said, “There's a lot of noise about them wanting to be ordinary and wanting to give their children ordinary upbringings, but yet so many things about their daily lives are not ordinary.”

Murphy believes that the difficulty lies in logistics.

Private hospitals offer a more controlled environment without disrupting larger services, which is important for security and privacy reasons.

It's easier to know the people you're dealing with and the people in the department can be vetted, which is more difficult to do in a larger ward in an NHS setting.

Taking over a whole ward of an NHS hospital could deprive other patients of the opportunity to use it, so the smaller private ward is more manageable.

The birth of the new baby, who will be fifth in line to the throne, is far from ordinary.

The road closures and press areas outside the hospital have already been put in place.

Murphy adds, “They're never going to get treated like any other NHS patient and people might dislike that as well.

I think we probably have to say, if we're going to have a royal family we probably have to accept there are going to have to be things that are different.

There's a huge interest in this birth and to pretend that this is a normal scenario is just unrealistic.”

Kate's due date is unknown, but it's expected to be in the next couple of weeks.

Initially, it was believed that Kate might opt for a home birth this time around, but it seems this is no longer the case.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte were both born at the Lindo Wing.

While some may question the couple's choice, it's important to remember that they are still members of the royal family.