AS the world waited for a glimpse of the royal baby, 17 East Lancashire families were busy welcoming their own new arrivals.

A total of 11 boys and four girls will share the Prince of Cambridge’s birthday, born at the Central Birth Suite in the Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre at Burnley General.

And two boys were born at the Blackburn and Burnley birthing centres.

Newton-in-Bowland couple Amy Rhodes and Alex Steventon, both 26, welcomed their own little prince, Sonny Steventon, at Blackburn.

On the day the Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to the private Lindo wing at St Mary’s Hospital in London, Amy went to the Park Lee Road centre.

While Kate was still in labour, with crowds outside, it was a quiet family affair for the Ribble Valley couple. They introduced their little son to his grandparents on the patio of a private room in the centre.

Engineer Alex and Amy, a model and art technician, saw the arrival of their first born, weighing in at 6lb 13oz, at 11.30am on one of the hottest days of the year.

Sonny, who is also the first grandchild for both Amy’s and Alex’s parents, arrived five hours before the new prince.

Amy, a former Ribblesdale High pupil, said: “Lots of pregnant mums I’ve met recently have wondered if they would have their’s the same day as Kate.

“I know quite a lot who said they would wait to see the name of the royal baby, and match it if it happened on the same day. I didn’t want to do that. We wanted to go our own way.

“It was a very hot day to give birth but we came in at 7.30am and it was still cool when Sonny arrived before noon.”

Burnley couple Shane Varley and Rebecca Davison also welcomed their new arrival Leo Varley on Monday.

The 6lb youngster arrived at 7am after a six-hour labour. Former Towneley High School pupil Rebecca was admitted to Burnley Birthing Centre at 1am.

Shane said little Leo was their second child, a brother for 18-month-old Amelia.

He said: “We didn’t think about the royal baby at all and had no idea our baby would be due at the same time. It’s a nice surprise though and it is quite cool that he will share his birthday with a king.”