With more than 180 photographers and journalists camped outside 24/7 at the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, waiting at any moment for Kate Middleton to go into labor, royal photographer Christopher Jackson is just one snapper hoping to get a good glimpse of the newborn when she or he makes their arrival!
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Jackson, who works for Getty Images, paints the picture of the crowded, yet serene, scene outside the birthplace of Britain's future Monarch, who shall be known as the prince or princess [name] of Cambridge.
"This is a big deal for us, we take it very seriously," Jackson tells Us. "We're on call every day, we're on constant watch. I've been banned from going out for dinner or drinking at all this week — the labor could happen at any moment and you don't really want to go on a night out with your friends and then have to turn up to the birth five beers in! It's a very important week for us."
According to Jackson, with Middleton's due date being July 11, cameramen have been camped out since July 1 just in case the royal baby had an early arrival.
"We're anxious to make sure they were going to get a good view of the royal baby when he or she comes out," he explains, noting that it was a "stampede" during the first few days in July.
Despite the craziness and unusually scorching temperatures outside, Jackson knows that the long wait will be well worth it when the Duchess and Duke of Cambridge debut their new bundle of joy. "It's the start of a new chapter for the royal family," he shares. "It's a start of a new life of a new royal."
He added, "It's a truly historical occasion and the first pictures of a royal baby live on in the archives forever." Jackson has a close relationship with the royal family, as Prince Harry will attend a private London viewing on July 25 of Jackson's photographs taken for the charity he co-founded in 2006. The Sentebale — Stories of Hope exhibition chronicles Sentebale's work assisting Africa's most vulnerable children and their communities.
The photographers and cameramen aren't the only ones getting antsy about the royal baby's birth — as Us Weekly reported on July 17, Queen Elizabeth is growing, well, fairly impatient. "I would very much like it to arrive soon," the 87-year-old monarch told schoolchildren. "I'm going on holiday." (The Queen departs for her annual summer vacation in Balmoral next Friday, July 19.)
As Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles' wife notes, all of London seems to be awaiting the baby news. "We are just waiting by the telephone," she said on July 15. "We are hopeful that by the end of the week, he or she will be here."
With reporting by Libby Galvin
