You may not have heard, but Prince William and Kate had a baby! And if you were on Twitter, you heard it there first.
Eschewing the traditional Royal Easel birth announcement (left), the monarchy went with a press release and a few tweets from the official Clarence House Twitter account to get the news out (followed by, yes, the announcement on the Royal Easel and that colorful town crier who made all the front pages).
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The Clarence House account announced that Kate Middleton had been admitted to the hospital "in the early stages of labour" on Sunday. Twelve hours later came the news: "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm."
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According to Twitter, "#royalbaby" was used over 900,000 times after Kate was admitted to the hospital. Social analytics tool Topsy shows not only the expected spike in the use of "#royalbaby," but also "royal" and just plain old "baby":
Of course, world leaders made sure to congratulate the new parents:
"So pleased to congratulate The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the joyous occasion of the birth of their first child." -President Obama
– Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 22, 2013
I'm delighted for the Duke and Duchess now their son has been born. The whole country will celebrate. They'll make wonderful parents.
– David Cameron (@David_Cameron) July 22, 2013
Vladimir Putin has congratulated Queen Elizabeth II on the birth of her great-grandson #RoyalBaby http://t.co/HsM8KCZpIx
– President of Russia (@KremlinRussia_E) July 23, 2013
Congratulations Prince William and Catherine on the birth of your son. This is wonderful news. #RoyalBaby
– John Key (@johnkeypm) July 22, 2013
I wish the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and their new baby, every happiness. I had the pleasure of meeting them during their Malaysia tour
– Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) July 23, 2013
"L'heureuse nouvelle de la naissance du Prince a réjoui le peuple français." (François #Hollande) #RoyalBaby pic.twitter.com/f62YKP34ap
– Élysée (@Elysee) July 23, 2013
On behalf of all Cdns, I offer our heartfelt congratulations to the Royal Couple & the entire Royal Family http://t.co/YQNM9NMqAI #royalbaby
– Stephen Harper (@pmharper) July 22, 2013
And various brands made sure to cleverly capitalize on the birth:
Prepare the royal bottle service! pic.twitter.com/Nlks2kT7Sw
– Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) July 22, 2013
Congrats from #DunkinDonuts! In celebration, we will have our own #RoyalMunchkin coming to U.S. DDs soon! pic.twitter.com/ZUZerBFaTk
– Dunkin' Donuts (@DunkinDonuts) July 23, 2013
Every baby is a little prince or princess.WATCH http://t.co/uri8669zei & SHARE pics of yours at http://t.co/3o4OZULHj1 #PampersLoveSleepPlay
– Pampers (@Pampers) July 22, 2013
This summer, a precious little bundle of sweetness was born. And Will and Kate also had their baby. pic.twitter.com/uNeClpBbWF
– Hostess Snacks (@Hostess_Snacks) July 22, 2013
Congrats to the Royal Family! pic.twitter.com/ZcD6di2trN
– Play-Doh (@PlayDoh) July 22, 2013
Did we miss something? #RoyalBaby is trending.. We've been, uh, enjoying the go and clearly didn't get the memo… #tweetfromtheseat
– Charmin (@Charmin) July 22, 2013
Get the throne ready! There's a new cub in the Royal family. #RoyalBaby pic.twitter.com/zXQMm7LHkl
– Charmin (@Charmin) July 22, 2013
And if you're royal baby-averse or just sick of it all, ABC News has some tips on how to remove it from your social media feeds entirely (FYI: Number Three is "close your eyes").