William and Kate emerge from hospital with baby

In this image from video, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge leave the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London Tuesday, July 23 2013, carrying their newborn son, the Prince of Cambridge, who was born Monday, into public view for the first time. The boy will be third in line to the British throne. AP PHOTO/APTN

LONDON, July 23, 2013 (AFP) – Britain’s Prince William and wife, Kate, emerged from hospital with their baby Tuesday evening and will return home to Kensington Palace.

Crowds of journalists and onlookers had camped outside the hospital and were eagerly anticipating the baby’s first public appearance.

Earlier, grandparents Prince Charles, his wife, Camilla, and Michael and Carole Middleton—Kate’s parents—visited the young family at the hospital.

Charles called the baby “marvelous,” and told reporters that “wait and see, you’ll see him in a minute.”

Carole Middleton described the infant as “absolutely beautiful.”

Photographers take pictures of The Duchess of Cambridge’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton as they arrive at the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London, to meet their new grandson Tuesday, July 23, 2013. Prince William, Kate and their baby boy were spending their first full day as a family Tuesday inside a London hospital, thanking staff for their care but making well-wishers wait for a first glimpse of the royal heir. (AP Photo / Steve Parsons/PA)

Their unnamed baby son, the new third in line to the British throne, was born at the central London hospital at 4:24 p.m. (1524 GMT) on Monday weighing a healthy 8 lbs 6 oz (3.8 kilos).

The palace said Tuesday that “mother, son and father are all doing well this morning.”

As celebratory lights, gun salutes and other tributes were unleashed in Britain and abroad, William thanked staff at St. Mary’s Hospital “for the tremendous care the three of us have received.”

“We know it has been a very busy period for the hospital and we would like to thank everyone—staff, patients and visitors—for their understanding during this time,” he said in a statement.