Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty
(No pressure, Kate.)
On Thursday workers began erecting steel fences to create pens that will hold more than 100 media members outside St. Mary’s Hospital in London, following the introduction of parking restrictions that have been put in place in the roads around the private Lindo Wing where Kate andPrince Williamwill be ensconced.
Those restrictions are set to run from April 15 to April 30, citing on bright yellow signs a “special event” as the reason for the changes.
More physical alterations became evident as positions for photographers and reporters were mapped out and sectioned.
But unlike in July 2013, whenPrince Georgewas born following weeks of what was dubbed on social media the #GreatKateWait, news crews will be prohibited from camping out for days on end.
This time, reporters will not be permitted to “populate” what palace officials call a “partial installation” of the pens.
Maria Scott, 44, who traveled 300 miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to be in west London with her daughter Amy Thompson, 14, was outside the clinic for the excitement last time.
“That day was amazing. The atmosphere was electric,” Scott tells PEOPLE.
She wants to experience the excitement again when Kate, 33, goes in to have her second child in the coming days.
“We’re big royal fans. I was a huge Princess Diana fan and I like to keep her memory alive,” says Scott. “I camped out to seePrince Williamget married and now have seen him have a child of his own.”
Fans like Scott and her friend John Loughrey, 60, understand the reasons for the quieter presence this time, as officials hope to keep thoroughfares and sidewalks clear for the working hospital to operate safely. Prior to George’s birth, fans and reporters were camped out for more than three weeks.
“It was like a little village,” says Loughrey.
If Kate and William manage to enter the hospital unnoticed, fans will get the news like everyone else: an announcement from the palace when Kate goes into labor.
source: people.com
