Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth II has been renowned for breaking and altering royal customs.

Her Majesty changed one such “ancient” custom more than 70 years ago, when she gave birth to her first child, Prince Charles, at Buckingham Palace in November 1948.

The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip, was not present for the birth of his son.

Prior to the birth of the Prince of Wales, Queens were joined in the delivery room by the Home Secretary. The goal of this procedure was for the Home Secretary to “validate” the child’s birth as a member of the Royal Family.

According to a new royal documentary titled A Very Royal Baby: From Cradle to Crown, the Home Secretary was there during the Queen’s birth since it was the custom at the time.

According to royal historian Ingrid Seward, “The Home Secretary had to attend the birth because in those days, the Home Secretary had to validate it was indeed a Royal child.”

“This was absolutely necessary because the Queen Mother’s body was owned by the state, and the child was also owned by the state,” historian Dr Onyeka Nubia said.

The last time this happened was in 1936, at the birth of the Queen’s cousin, Princess Alexandra.

The Queen Mother reportedly sent her “unwanted guest” to an adjoining chamber as she greeted the future monarch.

The documentary then claimed that her daughter, the Queen, “scrapped this ancient tradition” when she gave birth to her first child, Prince Charles, 22 years later.

This is where she welcomed all of her children, but custom seems to have changed again when subsequent royals chose private hospitals.

Ingrid Steward, a royal specialist, recounted in her book, ‘My Husband and I: The Insider Story of 70 Years of Royal Marriage,’ how Philip “paced the floor” while the Queen was giving birth, according to his Private Secretary at the time, Mike Parker.

Today, the majority of the Royals, including Anne, Princess Diana, and Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, gave birth in the renowned Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, West London, without the presence of the Home Secretary.

Meghan Markle selected a nearby hospital to give birth to her baby Archie in 2019, while Zara Tindall gave birth to two of her children in hospitals as well.