[post_page_title]There’s still an (unofficial) town crier to announce royal births[/post_page_title]
When Prince George was born in 2013, respected American newspeople like Anderson Cooper and Rachel Maddow reported that his birth was officially announced to the masses in the English capital by a town crier. They were taken for a ride – despite his magnificent robes, the crier, Tony Appleton, is a self-appointed one and isn’t affiliated with the Royal Family.
However, his presence does call back to an ancient – and completely real – tradition. In the Middle Ages, town criers were the primary source of information for a mostly illiterate population, and would shout out anything from market days to the sale of sugar loaves and yes, royal announcements.
