London ( CNN ) -- Amid all the excitement and wall-to-wall media coverage about the eagerly-awaited new addition to the royal family , you may think you know all you could ever want to about royal babies . But did you know ... A government minister used to be present at royal births , to make sure the baby was not switched . The practice is believed to have begun in 1688 , when dozens of officials watched Mary of Modena , wife of James II , give birth to a son , to scotch rumors that Mary was not really pregnant and that the baby was to be smuggled into the room in a bedpan . The tradition continued well into the 20th century . The last royal birth to be witnessed by a government minister was that of Queen Elizabeth II 's cousin , Princess Alexandra in 1936 , and the practice was only officially halted shortly before the birth of Prince Charles in 1948 . Royal husbands have not always attended the birth of their children . Queen Elizabeth II may not have had to contend with ministerial interference in her birth plan , but she also did n't have her husband there for support ; while she gave birth to Prince Charles , Prince Philip , the Duke of Edinburgh was busy playing squash . Prince Charles was on hand when Diana had Prince William , but William himself may not be there for his own child 's birth -- expected any day now -- if he 's at work as a search-and-rescue pilot when the big moment arrives . If for any reason William ca n't get to the hospital on time , the Duchess of Cambridge is reported to have asked her mother , Carole Middleton , to be there to support her . Queen Victoria was the first royal to use anesthesia in childbirth . The long-reigning monarch and mother-of-nine was given chloroform for pain relief during the births of her eighth and ninth children , Prince Leopold ( born in 1853 ) and Princess Beatrice ( born in 1857 ) . Her decision to opt for an anesthetic is credited with popularizing the use of painkillers during childbirth among the well-to-do of the time . John Snow , the doctor who administered the drug , is better known as one of the founding fathers of epidemiology , after he traced a deadly outbreak of cholera to a Soho water pump . Read more : Q & A - The royal baby 's arrival . Prince William was the first heir to the throne to be born in hospital . William was born in the private Lindo Wing of St Mary 's Hospital , Paddington , on June 21 , 1982 . His brother was born at the same hospital two years later , and William 's new son or daughter is also expected to come into the world there . While that might seem the normal way of things , in fact it was something of a break with tradition -- until then , all heirs to the throne had been born at home ( or at one of the royal family 's homes at least ) . Prince Charles was born at Buckingham Palace ; Elizabeth II herself was born in the Mayfair home of her grandfather in 1926 -- though at the time she was not expected to become queen as her uncle , and not her father , was next in line to the throne . Titled royal babies do not have surnames . Members of the royal family are famously burdened with plenty of names -- Prince William was christened William Arthur Philip Louis , and his father is Charles Philip Arthur George -- but many ( those titled His or Her Royal Highness ) do not have a surname . Prince William and Prince Harry have used `` Wales '' at school and during their military careers , but this comes from their father 's official title as Prince of Wales . William and Kate may continue to use this for their new baby . As descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh , they could also use Windsor , or Mountbatten-Windsor -- both of which are relatively new inventions , adopted during World War I to disguise the family 's German origins . Alternatively , the royal parents-to-be could even opt to found their own dynasty , using `` Cambridge '' as a surname . Read more : Royal births by the numbers .
Government ministers used to be present at all royal births . Queen Victoria was the first monarch to use anesthesia in childbirth . Comment: While they have plenty of first names , royal babies do n't need a surname .