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THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER

World Gets Glimpse of Prince; Modern Twists on Royal Baby Customs

Aired July 23, 2013 - 15:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Sure, we told England, thanks, but no thanks on that whole monarchy thing 237 years ago. But add a new baby to the mix, and we can't stop gawking.

I'm John Berman and this is THE LEAD.

The world lead, our very first look at the boy who would be key, Prince William and Duchess Catherine leaving the hospital a short time ago with the new heir to the throne. Also, hear what William and Kate had to say as they emerged from the hospital before taking their newborn son home to a place, like any new parents.

Get ready for some of that trademark royal witness

And no segue on earth could prepare you for the switch to our politics lead. More naught online activity coming back to haunt Anthony Weiner. Or should we call him Carlos danger? We will explain what that means. Will this threaten his run for New York City mayor or do New Yorkers just not care?

Hello there. I'm John Berman, usurping Jake Tapper's throne just this week.

We begin with the world lead. Honestly, it is a tiny story, just eight pounds and six ounces, to be exact. And with all that breathless hysteria, it's the kind of story that can really make us all proud to be Americans.

For the first time, the potential future king of England meets his subjects. Prince William and the Catherine, the duchess of Cambridge, left St. Mary's Hospital in London and gave the world a peek of their brand-new baby boy who could one day take over all the duties of England's top monarch. That would be mostly the smiling and hand waving.

As you're about to see, the new prince refused to answer questions, but the radiant parents, William and Kate, shared their joy with well- wishers outside and really the entire world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HRH PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES, UNITED KINGDOM, DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE: Well, he has got a good pair of lungs on him. that's for sure. He's a big boy. He is quite heavy. But we're still working on a name, so we will have that as soon as we can. But it's the first time we have seen him really, so we're having a proper chance to catch up.

Very emotional.

KATE MIDDLETON, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: Yes, it's very emotional. It's a special time. I think any parent I think probably could have known what this feeling feels like.

PRINCE WILLIAM: It's very special.

(CROSSTALK)

PRINCE WILLIAM: It was. And I will remind him of his tardiness when he is older, because I know how long you have all have sat out here, so hopefully (INAUDIBLE) and you guys can all get back to normal now and we can look after him. So...

He has got her looks thankfully.

K. MIDDLETON: No, no, no.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(LAUGHTER)

PRINCE WILLIAM: Wait and see. Wait and see. Oh, we have done that already. It's good.

K. MIDDLETON: I'm very, very good.

PRINCE WILLIAM: No, she's got way more than me, thank God.

Thanks a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, as you heard there, baby Cambridge, as we are calling him, does not have a name yet. We're going to place some bets later on this show on what that name might be.

The new parents whisked the baby prince off to their home at Kensington Palace just after that. Earlier in the day, both sets of new grandparents paid a visit at the hospital, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, the duchess of Cornwall, and got their first glimpse at the new heir.

And for those of you who learned everything you know about the British lines of succession from "Downton Abbey," we will point this out to you. This was the first time the first, second and third in line to the throne were in the same room at the same time since way back in 1894.

So a little bit of history. That moment the hospital door swung open and Britain's newest heir got his first taste of the media spotlight that will be following him for the rest of his life it left an indelible image.

Joining me now to talk about it is Katie Nicholl, CNN royal commentator and the royal correspondent at "The Mail on Sunday," and Victoria Arbiter, CNN royal commentator, journalist, just daughter of Queen Elizabeth's former press secretary.

This really was an historic moment for the royal family.

Katie, I want to start with you. When they walked out of that hospital, they looked radiant, they looked happy, they looked emotional and frankly, objectively, they looked simply fabulous. What struck you, Katie, about that appearance?

KATIE NICHOLL, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, this is why they are I would say bigger than any A-list celebrity couple. Forget Brad, forget Angelina. It is about William and Kate now.

They are the biggest stars on the planet. And they looked, as you said, emotional, beautiful, absolutely tickled pink with their little bundle of joy. The tenderness towards that little baby as they passed him between one another and the pride on their faces was just a very, very special moment to witness and one that the world's press have been assembled and waited to watch for many, many weeks now.

And I think it was probably worth every second of that very long wait.

BERMAN: Victoria, it was 31 years ago when another couple walked out those very same doors with another baby, when Charles and Diana walked out with Prince William there. I think a lot of us were looking for signs of similarities there, and what did you see in terms of the comparison?

VICTORIA ARBITER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It was certainly very poignant to see them walk out of the hospital together.

Of course, those photographs of Charles and Diana are iconic, we have looked at them numerous times as William has reached milestones throughout his life. I guess the immediate similarities, Kate and Diana were both wearing polka dots, albeit different colors.

But it was Kate that walked out holding the baby this time. And she handed the baby to Charles, as opposed to the other way around. This is very much a family unit. It was lovely to see them so relaxed and at ease, given the media attention and the wall of photographers that they were to face. They just seemed very happy and chilled.

And really what struck me more than anything is that clearly William's been practicing putting in the car seat because there were some very deft moves before the global media. I certainly don't know many new dads who do that so well.

BERMAN: No, that was phenomenal, incredibly impressive. That took me weeks for figure out.

The other thing that was truly astounding right there was that handoff from the baby from Kate and William there. That's not easy to learn to hold your baby for the very first time and they both looked like pros when they did that.

Katie, we don't know the baby's name yet. How long do you think before we will get this information?

NICHOLL: I think it will probably be before the queen goes to Scotland. You will know because she made that comment that she wanted to go off on holiday and would this baby please hurry up? I don't think they will want to allow the queen to go on holiday without knowing what her great-grandson, her first and only great-grandson to date, is going to be called.

But I think maybe they just want to enjoy this moment. Possibly, they haven't completely decided. There will be names that are under a degree of obligation to use, but possibly they will bring an element of personal choice in as well. We wait for that. The wait continues in terms of the name. But I'm hoping it won't be too long. I would say certainly before the end of the week.

BERMAN: We saw some still photos. From the moving pictures, the video, it was hard to get a first look at the baby up close, but I think we have some stills that we can see of the baby. There's a beautiful picture right there. A grumpy face, I would say, probably already frustrated with the media or perhaps gassy. Maybe both.

What do you make of the baby, Victoria? William made a joke that he already has more hair than the prince does.

ARBITER: He was wriggling around in there. You saw his little hand sort of trying to stretch up. And I'm actually amazed that the photographers did get a photograph of his face.

When Charles and Diana came out with both William and Harry, they were bundled up so well, so tightly, really I guess trying to protect the baby's face from all the flashing cameras. He didn't cry. He didn't seem to be too bothered. He was wriggling around a little bit, but lovely that we have had a first glimpse of his face before official photographs come probably two to three weeks from now.

BERMAN: Katie, you see the hand poking out there. Is that a first attempt at the royal wave, do you think?

NICHOLL: If it was, then he's had a little bit of practice. But, yes, those little fingers reaching up and such a sweet little face, no wonder they look smitten. This baby is just beautiful. They really did look like such proud parents. But, yes, he got the royal wave in. This is clearly an accomplishment already.

BERMAN: One day old and already well on his way to being a monarch.

All right, Katie Nicholl, Victoria Arbiter, thank you so much. We will come back to you in just a little bit. A lot to talk about on this story.

When we come back, how will this baby's upbringing be different from his father's? We will discuss life for the new parents coming up next. Plus, who will some of the first visitors to Kensington Palace be now that the future king is home? We will go there live coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm John Berman filling in for Jake Tapper.

We are talking about our world lead, the very first sighting of baby Cambridge. Yes, we are still waiting to learn the name of the son of Prince William and Kate. After his first press conference wrapped up, Baby Cambridge was swept away by mom and dad to his new home, which will be Kensington Palace.

That's where we find CNN royal correspondent Max Foster.

He really must have been hiding under their back seat. I simply do not know how he got there so fast. He joins us from Kensington Palace.

We're also joined by CNN royal historian Kate Williams. She's outside Buckingham Palace.

Max, back to Kensington right now. Let's start with you. Is the family inside, the happy trio?

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They sure are. And didn't they look so happy to be together as a unit?

It was interesting, I think yesterday, when we heard that they wanted to spend time together before they made the official announcement. You had this four-hour gap of bonding in the hospital there. And then you saw them come out and they were so comfortable with each other, William with that huge smile, Kate with a big smile, looked very relaxed. There was no sort of nervousness there, and very careful with the baby.

And the way they were passing the baby between each other, that would have been choreographed, William carrying the baby in the car seat and then driving off. This is a unit that's going to be very, very tight. And you can see that already, but also, John, I think a very modern unit. That just would not have happened with previous heirs to the throne.

BERMAN: Really very comfortable. That's such a good word to use right there. I have seen so many pictures of me and other people in their first days of being a new parent and we usually just look terrified. They looked incredibly comfortable.

Kate, let me ask you a question. Talk about the importance of Kensington Palace, where the royal couple, now the royal trio is. Prince William spent some of his childhood there, correct?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Yes, Prince William is obviously very excited about the birth of the child. He gave us these great things. He said he's got a great pair of lungs on him. He's a little bit late, a little bit heavy. And what they're doing now is they're getting to know the baby. What he did say is there are no names. We aren't going to tell you the name yet, we're still thinking about it.

So that's the big question now. What is this little boy going to be called? What's the future king going to be called? And I think the thing is in the olden days, they might wait a month or a week. But, at the moment, what they're thinking is the faster they tell us the name, the quicker perhaps they can settle down to a degree normal life in Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace.

BERMAN: We will place names -- on that name later in this show.

What's it like growing up in Kensington? What kind of a childhood home is that, Kate?

WILLIAMS: Well, that's a childhood home that we have seen many royals grow up in, Queen Victoria one of the most famous royals who grew up there.

What is great about Kensington Palace is what William and Harry loved when they were small children was when -- that area of Kensington is very appealing. It's very relaxed. There's the park, lots of nice shops.

So, William and Harry, Diana used to sneak them out to go to the cinema in Kensington, so they could go and watch films in the cinema. And that's something that William and Kate will be trying to do for their little boy, the prince Cambridge, take him to the cinema, take him to the shops, take him to the park and boating on the lake, when, hopefully, the eyes of the world aren't on them.

So, it's rather an appealing palace. It's not like Buckingham Palace, not as grand, not as stately. It's a smaller palace, a bit more of a homely palace if I could kind of use those words and one with a lot of history to it and one that certainly this little boy is going to be thrilled to grow up in, because imagine all those corridors, all those mazes to run around in and all those attics to played hide and seek in, nonstop hide and seek.

BERMAN: It's a modest palace, just like the rest of us grew up in, Kate, to be sure.

Max, explain to us what we're going to see in the next few days. We're now waiting on the name. Is that the next shoe to drop?

FOSTER: Yes, we are waiting on the name. There is some talk about film the moment when the birth certificate is revealed and that I think possibly could be the moment when we get the name. Maybe they haven't decided, John. I mean, that does happen quite often. You got to pick a name that goes well with king. You got to pick a name that goes well with the title that he'll have immediately, which is his royal highness, the prince xxx of Cambridge. It has to sort of work around that. It's interesting they're coming back to Kensington Palace, because what you've had over the last year, John, is basically Kate, William and Harry, they operate as a unit, William always wants Harry near him, coming here and setting up a base in this palace. They were in Clarence House, St. James Palace, which is a unit, comes under Prince Charles.

What you're seeing here -- and the office as well, all their admin staff have recently moved to Kensington Palace. So you've got Prince William, with his wife, with his brother, all his administrative staff here, a brand new spanking glorious apartment being developed at the cost of more than $1 million, which will be ready in autumn, and then the baby coming back here. I think that's quite symbolic. What you got here is a whole new royal household being set up independently around William and his immediate sort of siblings, family, and now, son.

BERMAN: And Prince Harry, Kate, will be nearby also. That should be a rather interesting influence, yes? Oh, Kate is gone.

All right. We'll get back to Prince Harry and the influence that may be, coming up in a bit.

Max Foster, thank you so much for that. Really appreciate it.

Coming up here on THE LEAD, an e-mail birth announcement and now one from the town crier as well. Is this really going to be a modern monarchy? Does that look modern to you?

Plus, hours, days or weeks? How long before we know the future king's name? We will look at the possible names on the short shortlist.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Welcome back to THE LEAD.

There are so many proper procedures surrounding the royal birth and they're just as preciously anachronistic as you might expect from the country that pretty much invented pomp and circumstance. But the new parents, William and Kate, are doing things with the few -- and try not to drop your trumpet (ph) here -- a few modern twists. Well, modern for one of the longest running monarchies in the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN (voice-over): The world celebrates the new prince, the future king, the possible first British monarch of the 22nd century.

The parents, William and Kate, hailed as young, fresh, modern.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: It seems that these two do things their own way.

UINIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a very modern royal couple. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're a very hip, modern royal couple, of course.

BERMAN: OK. Maybe. But it's safe to say there are modern families and then modern families.

Young "Baby Cambridge's" entrance to the world might be ground breaking by royal standards but it's not like he has two daddies or Sofia Vergara.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get out!

BERMAN: On the modern side --

FOSTER: The royal highness, the duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son, at 4:24 p.m.

BERMAN: A break from tradition, sending word of the birth in an e- mail.

Not so modern -- they still posted the announcement on that gilded easel thing and then there was this guy.

Modern -- no nanny.

Not so modern -- access to five castles.

Modern?

WILLIAMS: When the baby was born, William (INAUDIBLE) queen in an especially encrypted phone with the news.

BERMAN: An encrypted phone.

Not so modern -- that call was to tell his grandma that he did his duty and produced an heir.

Modern -- those 41 and 62 gun salutes. Sure, it's not Twitter, but at least they weren't cross bows or slingshots. That's fairly modern- ish.

Modern, the duke of Cambridge will take two weeks maternity leave. Not so modern, I just called him the duke of Cambridge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: I have to mention, William and Kate are expected to be more hands-on parents than past royals. Instead of a nanny, they've reportedly hired a housekeeper to help around the palace. So much for Mary Poppins.

Coming up in the money lead, there is no better way to celebrate a child's entry into this world than betting everything on everything surrounding his birth, from his name to when the whole thing will be announced. What's leading the pack of possibilities? We'll tell you that, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Come on Prince Elvis, daddy needs a new pair of shoes.

The royal baby is out of the hospital and safe at home but we still do not know his name. And right now, the bookies are busy setting odds on what that name will be and there are some big payoffs for some of the less traditional possibilities.

Our Erin McPike is here with more on all of this.

Nice to see you, Erin.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nice to see you, too.

Well, Kate and William apparently didn't give all of us the name of their dog, Lupo. It's a black cocker spaniel, for months. So, this could take a while. The odds have been going all over the place all day long.

And this is a heavy money game. Over 400,000 pounds have been placed on bets already.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE (voice-over): Now that the heir to the throne has finally arrived, Britain's betting business has gone bananas.

JENNIE PREST, WILLIAM HILL BOOKMAKERS: The most popular bet so far is the name. Ever since the duchess of Cambridge was seen at the public appearance and took the teddy bear and nearly made it seem like she was going to say daughter, it's all been about girls names.

MCPIKE: Betters who staked their money on a boy won big on Monday, odds had favored a female as the future monarch.

But after his arrival yesterday, the money really started pouring in. British betting house William Hill says it raked in more than $380,000 in bets, $30,000 flooded in just yesterday on baby names.

So where is the smart money going on what Prince William and Kate will name their son? Well, Alexandra, Queen Elizabeth's middle name was the potential royal baby name that got hunters to plunk down the most cash. But now that we know this British bundle of joy is a boy, Alexander is claiming the charts.

The other popular choices, all with royal pedigrees, are George, James, Louis, Henry, Arthur and Philip. You could put a spot of cash of what day Will and Kate will announce their son's name to the world. That may make a good office pool.

It took Princess Diana and Prince Charles to publicize William. And I took Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip a month to tell the world Charles' name.

There's also interest in what color of hair his will turn into. Most think the royal son will be a brunette like the mother to be. There's a little bit more on the ginger like Prince Harry, the non-blonde like Prince William.

PREST: Ever since that she was announced to be pregnant in December the ball started rolling then and it's grown and grown and grown. It's been really exciting.

MCPIKE: There's also money to be made on what Baby Cambridge's first word will be, where he'll go on his first overseas trip, where he'll be christened and even how hold he'll be when he visits his first night club. Of course, it will be a while for those who are already wagering on where the royal lad will go to university.

Here's a tip if you want to up the ante. The best bet with the bookies is the University of St. Andrews, where Will and Kate met.

(END VIDEOTAPE)