Royal fever sweeps the globe

While royal fever sweeps the globe following the birth of the Prince of Cambridge, a local midwife says surprisingly enough, she was more excited than expectant Wairarapa mothers.

"I think maybe they're more interested in their own births," midwife Kate Wilson said.

The prince was born yesterday in London, sending royal lovers around the world into fever pitch. But Ms Wilson believed interest in the royal family was a generational thing.

"For us, we had to stand up for the national anthem when we went to the movies. [Young mums] have just grown up with the gossip."

The birth date of the future king is likely to be shared by around 167 New Zealand babies, Statistics New Zealand has revealed.

When Prince William was born in 1982, the average age of New Zealand mothers giving birth was 26. That average has now increased to 30.

Meanwhile, the average age of a first-time Kiwi mother is 28 - three years shy of the Duchess of Cambridge's 31.

Ms Wilson said the average age of mothers giving birth in Wairarapa reflected the national average.

"I don't think we've got a particularly young population here or anything."

Also in 1982, the New Zealand population was 3.2 million. Today it's nearing 4.5 million, and in another 30 years, when the new prince may be having his first child, Stats NZ projects the population could reach 5.6 million.

While the name of the new prince is yet to be known, Jack, Oliver and William were the most popular names for Kiwi boys in 2012 , according to the Department of Internal Affairs.

"Baby boys born today in New Zealand might expect to live 90 years on average, and girls 93 years," acting Government statistician Dallas Welch said.

If heredity is anything to go by, the royal baby has a good chance of living even longer than that. Queen Elizabeth II, the new prince's great-grandmother, is 87, and the Queen Mother lived to 102.

"As third in line to the throne, the new prince may have a long wait until he becomes king," Mrs Welch said.

The new prince is likely to see plenty of change over his lifetime and be part of many historic milestones.

"During her reign, the Queen has seen 14 New Zealand prime ministers take office, the dollar replace the pound in New Zealand, and the All Blacks win the Rugby World Cup twice," Mrs Welch said. APNZ