Heir to the Throne

It is with the greatest Pleasure that we announce our Heir, Francis John Joseph Williams (affectionately known as 'Frankie').

After a very long Labour he was Born by emergency caesarean weighing Eight pounds Fourteen and a half ounces, at four minutes past Six in the evening of the Twentieth of February two thousand and Eight.

The Grand Duchess and young Frankie are making good progress after a difficult start. The Grand Duke is feeling exhausted but elated.

We send our grateful Thanks to the representatives of the various Imagi-Nations for their messages of Concern and Goodwill.

P.S. Whilst still on the operating table, the Grand Duchess asked the midwife what would have happened in this situation years ago. The midwife asked if we really wanted to know, and Judy said yes. The midwife told us that the baby would have died, and that the mother usually died too. Then the anaesthetist interrupted saying 'Happy stories!' and began cracking jokes to distract us. How amazing it is to benefit from terrific advances in medicine! As if Frankie is not miracle enough, I am very thankful to the brilliant staff of Nevill Hall hospital that, unlike our Lace Wars analogues, we are all very much alive and healthy, and the worst thing we suffer is being sleep-deprived.