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Prince Harry, left, Prince William, right, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London on June 15, 2013.PAUL HACKETT/Reuters

It's a boy! And the Internet is royally disappointed.

Twitter seemed to fall into two camps after Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to a boy Monday afternoon: people who were convinced the royal baby was going to be a girl (and were shocked at how wrong they could be), and those who were genuinely disappointed because they had hoped the baby would be a princess.

To the first camp, I'm sorry you were so duped, by the bookies and your own (seemingly unfailing) intuitions. The odds were always going to be 50/50.

To the second group, take your time to grieve. There will be fewer bows, fewer little tailored dresses, and, most depressingly, fewer little hats (that you have to be both a member of the royal family and a baby to pull off) in your future. In no small way, the tabloid-watching world is mourning the loss of a royal version of Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise (a fashion icon even as a toddler, and now a seven-year-old with a clothing line. They are missing out on a "princess" – a word that would have added so much glitz and glamour to the already glossy, pretty escapism of royal watching.

Yes, this sudden heartbreak is part of a larger cultural obsession with girl children (mostly to do with how cute and well-mannered they supposedly are), but in this case what many seemed to be hoping for was the sense that perhaps this baby could carry on the spirit, iconic compassion, and even the name of Prince William's late mother, Lady Diana.

Another complaint has been that the campaign to change Britain's succession laws has been all for naught. While changes to the law have been passed in most Commonwealth countries, it faces challenges in Quebec and Australia, where there are concerns that federal representatives would wield the power to make significant constitutional changes without consulting state or provincial legislatures.

But there is one thought that hasn't seemed to cross many minds just yet, and it's an exciting idea that fits very neatly with the notion of a perfect, royal nuclear family. For all we know, this baby could simply turn out to be the protective older brother our little princess needs.

Tell us: Were you hoping for a prince or a princess?

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