A doctor who helped deliver Prince George and Princess Charlotte has revealed 23 hand-picked hospital staff were on the team dedicated to the Duchess of Cambridge each time she gave birth.
Professor Tiong Ghee Teoh, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, and Dr Johanna Bray, a consultant anaesthetist, met the Duchess yesterday after being invited by the Queen to a garden party at Buckingham Palace.
The Duke, who wore a top hat and tails as he attended his first Palace garden party, and the Duchess, attending her fourth, had plenty to chat about with the two doctors, who had been on standby to take over if there had been any complications.
Professor Teoh said: "We had a huge team. I was back-up to Guy Thorpe-Beeston, who led the team, but for anything that could possibly go wrong we had a team of people behind each specialty. Everyone was sworn to secrecy about who it was."
He said about 20 staff met once a month, or once a week as the birth got closer, to discuss their plans for the birth and contingencies for various emergencies. The team comprised two obstetricians, three midwives, three anaesthetists, four theatre staff, two special care baby unit staff, four paediatricians, one laboratory technician to check blood samples and four senior managers.