The Royal Baby

Even Republic admit that they're a minority group. The Monster Raving Loony Party have done more good as a campaigning force than Republic, which by definition is campaigning for something that will result in everyone being worse off.

Most countries in Europe (and the world), including some of the most successful ones, are republics. How are they worse off by not having people from a certain family being named head-of-state solely by the virtue of their birth into that family? I'm not British, so it's not my decision to make, but I would argue that monarchies -- whatever their entertainment value -- are laughably anachronistic in the 21st century.

I can't imagine that any European country will still be a monarchy 70 years from now.

Newswatch has finished for a few weeks, hasn't it?

(Rather convientley, some might say!)

Why can't someone else present it, while Samira takes a break?

It's not as if our country is a dictatorship or an absolute monarchy; we don't lack the freedoms of a republic (this is where the Republic movement falls down). Our figure-head gives us a lot of so-called soft power. It also gives us working history, as well as the economic benefits.

If we really want to throw away heritage and history for pseudo-modernity, we might as well demolish the Houses of Parliament and move into a soulless abomination like that used by the Scottish Parliament - in the name of progress and modernity...

Ah, Kay Burley. Thy is greatness.

^^ She's a trooper, all day long on air and she loves every minute of it.

Even the usual Twitter hating on her is less than before. Think her joining it helped her image.

No there is just bit of a difference between a fluffy Royal event and insensitively hounding volunteers looking for a missing child. Does that really have to be spelt out?

^ Well Kay got vile Twitter hating on many other occasions, not just for that. Today and especially last hour or so, she's getting more praise than hate.

Well, my disagreement is based on your suggestion that replacing the monarchy with a republic is likely to make the UK -- or any country -- "worse off" than before. The citizens of, say, the United States, Germany, or France are in no way worse off because they live in republics. These countries are not merely as stable and prosperous as the UK, with strong national identities; they also exercise a great deal of (in)direct political and cultural influence ("soft power") on the global scene. As for a working history, do France or the U.S. -- or small countries such as Switzerland -- have less of it merely because they are republics?

Kay Burley still going at St Mary's hospital. Meanwhile, another change at Buckingham palace. First we had Dermot then Colin Brazier now Jeremy Thompson has taken over.

A long afternoon for Kay!

Joanna Gosling replacing Jane Hill on BBC News. Tim Willcox in the studio.

Also a long afternoon for her former colleague Simon McCoy, 5 bells and he's also still outside the hospital, Jane Hill has been replaced by Joanna Gosling and seeing as he more or less lives there, Tim Wilcox is on standby in Studio C.