Premature baby for UK royals
From CNN's Gaven Morris
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Edward and Sophie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's royal family welcomed a new member Sunday after the wife of the Earl of Wessex gave birth to a daughter during an emergency Caesarian section, Buckingham Palace announced.
Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, and her infant daughter were in stable condition after the operation, a palace spokeswoman said.
Her husband, Edward -- the queen's youngest son -- was on an official visit to Mauritius when the birth occurred. He flew home immediately and was expected at Frimley Park Hospital late Sunday.
The child, whose name has not been released, was several weeks premature. She weighed 4 pounds 9 ounces after her birth at 11:32 p.m. Saturday, the spokeswoman said.
The girl is the seventh grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and is eighth in line for the throne.
The 38-year-old countess was admitted Saturday night to Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, near her home, but the baby has now been transferred to the neo-natal unit of St. George's Hospital in south London as a precaution.
The countess, who suffered a potentially life-threatening ectopic pregnancy two years ago, would be staying in hospital "for the foreseeable future," the palace said.
Until she fell ill on Saturday, the pregnancy had been progressing well without complications. Royal gynecologist Marcus Setchell had expected to deliver the child early in December.
