The Most Anticipated Babies of All Time

“Royal Baby” mania carries on today as the British monarchy announced that Kate Middleton and Prince William are expecting a second child — who will become fourth in the line to the throne— just a little more than a year after Prince George was born on July 22, 2013. Here, we look back at other famous offspring who attracted a lot of media attention.

North West

b. June 15, 2013. Daughter of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian

Tabloid speculation—about the Kim’s weight, Kanye’s commitment, and, of course, the baby’s sex—ran rampant for months. And when Kim went into early labor (5 weeks before her due date), some fans went so far as to claim her baby was the messiah.

Blue Ivy Carter

b. January 7, 2012. Daughter of Beyoncé and Jay-Z

Her existence was announced at the end of Beyoncé’s 2011 Video Music Awards performance of “Love on Top” (side note: the best part of this video is Kanye trying to get in on the announcement), and when she was born, her parents reportedly rented out the hospital’s entire fourth floor—for $1.3 million.

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt

b. May 27, 2006. Daughter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Though the much-lauded “world’s most beautiful couple” had previously adopted, Shiloh was their first biological child. In an attempt to avoid the media circus, the family traveled to Namibia for the birth. Her first public photo was on the cover of People, which reportedly bought the images for $4.1 million. (Profits were donated to charities serving African children.)

Suri Cruise

b. April 18, 2006. Daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

She was amid a flood of rumors that the TomKat marriage was a publicity stunt—the couple began dating in April in 2005 and were married by November—and her first public photo graced the cover of the second-best-selling issue of Vanity Fair ever.

Prince William

b. June 21, 1982. Son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales

His mother, then 20 years old, was already a global obsession, and William’s birth marked the continued reign of the Windsor monarchy.

Louise Brown

b. July 25, 1978. Daughter of Lesley and John Brown

She was the first baby born via in vitro fertilization—after doctors spent 12 years honing their methods—and was heralded as a medial miracle. Robert Edwards, one of the IVF pioneers, received the 2010 Nobel Prize in medicine for his work. Louise’s birth also spotlighted the controversy surrounding “test tube babies.”

John F. Kennedy, Jr.

b. November 25, 1960. Son of President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy

He was born at the Georgetown University Hospital sixteen days after his father was elected president—the first-ever child born under those circumstances. Frank Sinatra and Queen Elizabeth were among those who sent gifts to the Kennedys when “John-John” was born.

Princess Caroline

b. January 23, 1957. Daughter of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco

Her mom touted around a now-famous Hermes bag to hide her pregnancy from the paparazzi, who followed her every move.

Desi Arnaz Jr.

b. January 19, 1953. Son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz

His mom’s pregnancy was written into the plot of I Love Lucy, which was a daring move for a TV show at the time. The same day that she gave birth to Desi Jr., her fictional counterpart, Lucy Ricardo, gave birth to Little Ricky on the show (though the baby was not played by Desi Jr. ). His photo eventually graced the first ever TV Guide in April 1953, accompanied by the title “Lucy’s $50,000,000 baby.”

Charles Lindbergh Jr.

b. June 22, 1930. Son of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow

Perhaps the first celebrity baby, the press had dubbed him “Little Eaglet” before he was born, and reporters waited en masse at the gate of the Morrow estate during and after his birth. Meanwhile, a song based on his arrival played on broadcasting stations. Sadly, the baby became infamous 20 months later, when he was kidnapped and killed.

Esther Cleveland

b. September 9, 1893. Daughter of President Grover Cleveland and First Lady Frances Folsom Cleveland

She was born during her dad’s second term, becoming the first and only child of a president to be born in the White House.

Alfonso XIII

b. May 17, 1886. Son of Alfonso XII and Maria Christina of Austria

He became king of Spain the day he was born (his father had died the previous year), prompting French newspaper Le Figaro to dub him “the happiest and best-loved of all the rulers of the earth.” Alas, Alfonso did not prove to be a particularly successful king. During his rule, Spain lost the last of its colonies, and Alfonso lost the monarchy to military dictator Francisco Franco.

Henry VI

b. December 6, 1421. Son of King Henry V and Catherine of Valois

He became England’s youngest king at eight months old after his father’s death. Upon his grandfather’s death two months later, he was crowned the King of France, as well. Eventually, Henry went insane and was locked away in the tower of London.

Shapur II the Great

b. 309. Son of King Hormizd II, the eighth king of the Sassanid Empire

When his father died, according to legend, Persian nobles dispatched of his three living sons—killing the eldest, blinding the second, and imprisoning the third. The throne was then reserved for the unborn child of one of Hormizd’s wives, making Shapur II the first and possibly only king in history ever to be crowned in utero: the crown was literally placed upon the mother’s belly.

This article was originally published on June 21, 2013.