8lb 6oz within average range

The new Prince of Cambridge was heavier than his father who weighed 7lb 1.5oz when he was born in 1982.

Reports suggest that Duchess of Cambridge was around 41 weeks pregnant when she gave birth – a week overdue.

For babies born at 41 weeks in England during 2011, the average birth weight was 3.6kg (7lb 15oz), according to data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

The average birth weight of all of the 577,616 babies born was 3.4kg (7lb 8oz) – excluding the weight of those born as twins or triplets who tend to have lower birth weights.

Almost two thirds of babies born in England and Wales in 2010 weighed between 3kg (6lb 9oz) and 4kg (8lb 13oz), according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

Of the 700,000 children born during that year more than 460,000 were in this range.

The ONS figures also show that 30.3 per cent of babies born in 2011 weighed between 3.5kg (7lb 12 oz) and 4kg.

Almost 12 per cent weighed more than 4kg.

Consultant obstetrician Patrick O’Brien, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the average weight of a baby born around its due date was 3.7 kilos (8.2lbs).

“What’s more important than weight is if a baby has been growing normally,” he said.

“We really don’t mind whether babies are big or small or average, but we want to see that babies are growing along their own lines.”