On 3 December 2012, St. James’s Palace announced that the Duchess was expecting the couple’s first child. At less than 12 weeks, the announcement was made earlier in the pregnancy than is traditional due to her admission to hospital with acute morning sickness.

The Duchess was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, London, in the early stages of labour on the morning of 22 July 2013. It was announced that the Duchess had given birth to a boy at 16:24 BST (15:24 UTC) on 22 July, and that the baby weighed 8Кpounds 6Кounces (3.80Кkg). The Duke was by his wife’s side when she gave birth, and he is expected to take the full two weeks’ paternity leave from his job as an RAF search and rescue pilot, allowed by the Ministry of Defence. The birth took place in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital – the same hospital in which Prince William and his brother, Prince Harry, were born to Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1982 and 1984, respectively. The Queen’s former gynaecologist, Marcus Setchell, delivered the baby assisted by Guy Thorpe-Beeston, Sunit Godambe and Physician to the Queen John Cunningham.

The customary formal bulletin announcing the royal birth was displayed on an easel outside Buckingham Palace, although in a break with tradition the news was first conveyed in a press release from Palace officials. Gun salutes signalled the birth in Bermuda, London, New Zealand, and Canada; the bells of Westminster Abbey and many other churches were rung; and iconic landmarks throughout the Commonwealth realms were illuminated in various colours, mostly blue to signify the birth of a boy.

In Gibraltar with the permission of the Royal Household, a Notice of Birth (the same one as is hanging outside Buckingham Palace) was attached to the front gate of The Convent (the official residence of the Governor of Gibraltar since 1728). With the Rock as the backdrop, members of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment carried out a 21 gun salute to signal the birth.

The birth means that three generations of direct heirs to the throne are alive at the same time, a situation which last occurred between 1894 and 1901, in the last seven years of the reign of Queen Victoria.

On 24 July, the day after the Duke and Duchess appeared outside the hospital to allow the gathered press to see the baby; the Prince’s name was announced as George Alexander Louis.

Source: WOPA

published August 9th, 2013

“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong”

The first definitive stamps of Queen Elizabeth II were placed on sale on 19th October 1953.

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published July 28th, 2013

Article X of The Treaty of Utrecht 1713 (English translation)

The Catholic King does hereby, for himself, his heirs and successors, yield to the Crown of Great Britain the full and entire propriety of the town and castle of Gibraltar, together with the port, fortifications, and forts thereunto belonging; and he gives up the said propriety to be held and enjoyed absolutely with all manner of right for ever, without any exception or impediment whatsoever.

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published July 5th, 2013

The Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) was formed as the Gibraltar Civilian Football Association in 1895, changing to its current name in later years. It is the seventh oldest national football association in Europe and one of the oldest associations in the world.

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published May 31st, 2013

43 Squadron ‘Gloria Finis’ 43 Squadron was formed in 1916 as part of the Royal Flying Corps. It saw distinguished service during two world wars, producing numerous ‘Aces”. 

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published March 31st, 2013

According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2013 is the Year of the Snake, beginning on February 10, 2013 and ending on January 30, 2014.

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published January 27th, 2013

The online philatelic business, www.wopa-stamps.com which is a division of the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau has been awarded the 2012 Federation of Small Business Award for Innovation & Achievement in Gibraltar.

WOPA competed against many other businesses for the award and the prize was awarded to its Managing Director, Glendon Martinez at the Federation of Small Business annual dinner held on the 15^th November 2012 which was attended by over 150 business managers and saw presentations from the Chairman of the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses and the Chief Minister of Gibraltar. (read more)

published November 22nd, 2012

The Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx) is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder hump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, the smallest member of Oryx genus, native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx was extinct in the wild by the early 1970s, but was saved in zoos and private preserves and reintroduced into the wild starting in 1980. In 1986, the Arabian oryx was classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and in 2011, it was the first animal to receive Vulnerable status again after having been listed as extinct in the wild. It is listed in CITES Appendix I. As of 2011, populations were estimated at over 1000 individuals in the wild, and 6000 – 7000 individuals in captivity worldwide.

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published November 14th, 2012

Gibraltar is commemorating the bicentenary of the birth of Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) with a wonderful issue alongside institutions from all over the world, most notably the ‘Dickens 2012’ official celebration in the United Kingdom.

Charles Dickens was an English writer, generally considered to be the greatest novelist of the Victorian period and responsible for some of English literature’s most iconic novels and characters. During his lifetime Dickens’ works enjoyed unprecedented popularity and fame, and they remain popular today. It was in the twentieth century, however, that his literary genius was fully recognized by critics and scholars.

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published November 12th, 2012

In his book ‘A Century Of British Chess’, Philip Sergeant writes that Britain’s first chess club, Parsloe’s, which opened in 1774, numbered among its early supporters George Eliot, later General Eliot, Governor of Gibraltar and commander of the forces during the Great Siege of 1779-1783. Many famous military men have played chess. Down the ages Gibraltarians, together with other local residents and Gibraltar garrison personnel, have included chess amongst their leisure activities.

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published July 31st, 2012