I discussed the history of royal births with Olivia B. Waxman at TIME. The circumstances surrounding the arrival of royal children have changed over successive centuries from the secluded atmosphere of a Tudor confinement to the summoning of a French midwife by Charles I’s queen, Henrietta Maria to the presence of the Home Secretary at royal births until the arrival of Prince Charles in 1948. The birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s child will be part of this long history of tradition and innovation in the royal birth chamber.