Unbelievable! I'm great-uncle to the future King of England: Excited texts, a rush to buy presents for George and, for the Duchess of Cambridge's Uncle Gary, poignant memories of sister Carole and baby Kate By Claudia Joseph It was the moment the nation had waited for: A new Prince and a beloved first baby for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. As the Royal couple walked down the steps of St Mary's Hospital cradling Prince George, the waiting crowds cheered and tried to catch a glimpse of the new arrival. But for one man, Gary Goldsmith, the historic moment had a much more personal resonance. "It was such a moving moment," he says. Just great: Gary Goldsmith at his club, celebrating the birth of his great-nephew George Pure class: William and Kate acknowledge the crowds outside the Lindo Wing on Tuesday Wearing a checked Savile Row jacket and a white shirt, with a flamboyant pink handkerchief in his pocket, Gary - the brother of Kate's mother Carole - looked every inch the proud great-uncle as he sat in the Union Club, a townhouse in the heart of Soho where he is a member. "My wife Julie-Ann was in tears and I felt really emotional," he says of the world's first glimpse of baby George. It's quite incredible to think that, as Catherine's uncle, a future King of England now has my family blood in his veins. It brought back loads of memories for me. I remember the moment I first held Catherine - I fell in love with her instantly. Now Catherine is a mother herself and we are all incredibly proud of her. Generation game: Carole Middleton with baby Kate in 1982 I thought it was wonderful that when she came out of hospital she looked like any other brand-new mum. She was incredibly poised and beautiful but there was nothing posed about her. There is a classy informality to everything she and William do. It was Monday morning when - along with the rest of the world - Gary first found out that his niece had gone into labour. Woken up by a thunderstorm outside their apartment in Marylebone, his fourth wife Julie-Ann saw the announcement from Kensington Palace on television. "It felt like a drum roll from above announcing the birth," he says. Within 30 seconds, my phone had gone into meltdown. I had text after text from friends telling me to turn on the television. I went straight into the lounge and sat down with a cup of tea watching everything unfold. When I tweeted how excited I was, my number of Twitter followers doubled instantly. I now have 2,033 followers. That's when I realised what a momentous event it was. After speaking to his daughter Tallulah, 11, he and Julie-Ann took their two chihuahuas - Chih and Quila - for a walk in Regent's Park and stopped off for lunch in their local restaurant, Providores. "Tallulah and I were convinced the baby was going to be a girl as we have a lot of girls in our side of the family," he laughs. But on Michael's side they are all boys, so it was always going to be the toss of a coin. Gary and Julie-Ann were at The Warwick pub, in London's Regent Street, when they found out that Kate had, in fact, given birth to a son. The couple immediately went home and spent the rest of the evening watching television. "I was so completely glued to the box I forgot to have a drink," says Gary, who was celebrating with Buck's Fizz on the morning I met him. All my friends were ringing me to rib me that I had got the sex wrong. Luckily I didn't put any money on it as I wasn't sure they would take my bet. That evening, he texted his nephew James, Kate's brother, to say congratulations. The birth brought back memories of the first time Gary held Catherine, pictured aged 15 days with her mother Carole "Once I knew it was a boy, I sent him a text saying how incredibly happy I was for him, as I have loved having a nephew," he reveals. I told him that I hoped he has as much fun being an uncle as I have had. He texted me back and I could tell he was incredibly chuffed. The whole family is thrilled. The following morning, Gary and Tallulah began to plan a present for Prince George - a time capsule in a treasure chest bought from Camden Market in London. He also popped into Smythson's to buy blue writing paper - for a boy - and at the same time had his brown leather iPhone case engraved: "Dad, Husband, Uncle G, Great Uncle G, G.G." He is now organising for all the family to write letters - Gary's aunt Ruth (the baby's great-great-great aunt), cousin Alison and her children Joanne - who has a 17-month-old son called Jesse - Jessica and Catherine, as well as himself and Tallulah - to include in the capsule. "Tallulah very brightly reminded me that all the heads of state would be sending gifts so we should do something personal," says Gary. Gary said he realised what a momentous event the birth was when his Twitter followers doubled in number after tweeting his excitement The following morning, Gary and his daughter Tallulah began to plan a present for Prince George - a time capsule in a treasure chest bought from Camden Market in London The day that Kate and William left hospital with baby George, her uncle Gary had his brown leather iPhone case engraved to mark the occasion I did a time capsule when she was born so she thought it would be lovely to replicate that. One day, when George is old enough to look at it, it will remind him of the year he was born. To furnish the chest, Gary has collected all the newspapers of the day, invested in the top ten albums and bought the best-selling novel One Day by David Nicholls, Hello magazine, Empire magazine, the Big Issue and Q magazine's official festival souvenir for Glastonbury 2013. "Something for everyone," he says. Naturally sport features heavily - he has included a DVD featuring Andy Murray winning Wimbledon "because obviously we all love tennis," a souvenir DVD of the Tour de France, an official Olympics DVD and baby-sized England football and rugby kits. He has even thrown in a Chelsea strip and DVD as a joke for William, who is an Aston Villa supporter. "I'm not going to give up on this one," he jokes. Do you think he will ever wear it? Never. But that is fine because it's part of the fun. By 2pm, Gary was back at home to hear the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fire a 41-gun salute to the new Prince George from Green Park. A DVD of Andy Murray winning Wimbledon has been included in a time capsule for Prince George to open when he grows up "We were sitting with the windows open when we heard the gun salute," he says. It's extraordinary to think it was for a member of my family. But he then had to go out for a business meeting at Mayfair club Home House and caught only the tail end of William and Kate leaving hospital. "I saw William putting the car seat in," he says. That wasn't someone who was doing that for the first time. That was a dad who has been practising. The look on his face was fabulous. He seemed to be saying, "Phew." I love the fact that he was driving the car himself, just like any other father. He looked so normal with his sleeves rolled up - nowadays a father would not go to hospital to pick up his son with a tie on. I remember driving my own daughter Tallulah home in the car for the first time. I went at 7mph - there were old ladies walking faster - as I was driving the most precious cargo. Prince William looked like 'a dad that had been practising' when he put his newborn son's car seat in the back of his Range Rover William looked 'so normal' with his sleeves rolled up and driving his family home 'like any other father' That evening he and Julie-Ann dined at The Ritz. "They put us on the Queen Mother's favourite table," he says excitedly. They made a complete fuss of us. The sommelier came over and recommended their finest champagne. Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent their first night as parents at their home, Nottingham Cottage, while their new apartment 1A in Kensington Palace is being renovated. Since then they have been staying with Kate's parents, Michael and Carole, at their £4.85 million Georgian mansion in rural Berkshire, signalling just how important a role the Middletons will have in bringing up baby. The couple are, naturally, "delirious and consumed by love for the baby." And they are determined to make his first weeks - and months - as calm as possible. The nursery is decorated in neutral beiges and whites, lit by candles, and has gentle music playing in the background. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have invested in armloads of cashmere for the baby in shades of white and caramel - baby blankets, pointelle cardigans, mittens and hats from Scottish Royal warrant holder Johnstons of Elgin (they signed the visitors" book last month). Gary Goldsmith said his sister Carole would be 'the perfect grandmother' to Prince George Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have invested in armloads of cashmere for the baby So far, only close family have visited the Royal couple: Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall and Carole and Michael Middleton dropped into the hospital, while Pippa, James and Prince Harry visited them on their first evening at home. The Queen spent 30 minutes with the couple the following afternoon. Gary, Julie-Ann and Tallulah have yet to meet the new arrival, but Gary is looking forward to watching the next generation grow up. "Carole herself did a fabulous job as a mother," he says, "and I am sure Catherine will too. My sister was very attentive and brought up the children beautifully, instilling in them lovely values, which is hugely apparent. But I think she will let go now and let Catherine make her own decisions. The role of a grandparent is very different from that of a mum. She will be there for her and be really supportive but she will stand back and won't interfere. I am sure she will be the perfect grandmother. Every role Carole has taken on she has excelled at so I am sure she will be brilliant at this too.