Town crier’s cameo in royal birth drama draws global media interest

LONDON – Well-wishers waiting outside St. Mary’s Hospital in London might have been forgiven for thinking a town crier announcing the birth of the Prince of Cambridge had the royal seal of approval.

Bell in one hand, scroll in the other, Tony Appleton marked Monday’s royal birth by belting out an old-style proclamation announcing the arrival of “the first born of their royal highness, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.”

But Appleton wasn’t invited — “unannounced” was how he described it in a telephone interview on Wednesday — but his stunt captured widespread media attention.

Appleton, who is a real-life town crier in the English commuter town of Romford, said his phone has been ringing frequently since he proclaimed “Oyez, Oyez” on the steps of the hospital.