Crowds push forward to see the birth announcement of the newest addition to the royal family. The news was placed in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace in London on July 22. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, gave birth to the boy at 4:24 p.m. on July 22. He weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces. A name has not been announced for the child, who is third in line to the British throne. 
People clamored for their chance to see and photograph the birth announcement that was place on a golden easel by the queen's press secretary. 
The London Eye Ferris wheel on the banks of the Thames is lit up in red, blue and white to mark the birth of the boy on July 22. 
The fountains at Trafalgar Square are lit blue to signify the birth of a boy on July 22. 
Royal fans celebrate the announcement of the birth of a boy to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at St. Mary's Hospital in London on July 22. 
Hayley Simmonds, an employee at the British restaurant and grocery Tea & Sympathy, celebrates the birth on July 22 by hanging a sign in the store's window in New York. 
Karen Milne, left, of Scotland, wears a Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge mask as she and friends celebrate the royal birth announcement at Ye Olde King's Head English Pub in Santa Monica, California, on July 22. 
Revelers crowd against the railing of Buckingham Palace in London after an official notice proclaiming the birth was put on display on July 22. 
Crowds gather outside Buckingham Palace on July 22 after the announcement of the birth. 
The queen's press secretary, Ailsa Anderson, left, and Badar Azim, a palace footman, place the official birth announcement on a golden easel in front of Buckingham Palace on July 22. 
Crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace cheer as the Anderson places the birth announcement in front of the palace on July 22. 
A town crier reads the announcement of the birth outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in London on July 22. 
Two of the gynecologists who attended to the duchess, Marcus Setchell, center, and Alan Farthing, right, leave the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital on July 22. 
Media gather outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in London on July 22 as they await news of the birth. 
Crowds gather outside Buckingham Palace in London as news of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge's, labor arrives on July 22. 
A Buckingham Palace official on July 22 hands the birth announcement to a colleague in a car to be driven from St. Mary's Hospital in London to Buckingham Palace. 
Police guard the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital in London as crowds gather and await news of the birth of the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on July 22. 
Royal supporters are interviewed by a television crew outside St. Mary's Hospital on July 22. 
Crowds gather behind a barricade outside St. Mary's Hospital as they wait for news of the birth on July 22. 
Hospital staff look out over a gathering crowd at St. Mary's Hospital in London on July 22. 
Royal fan Teba Diatta stands outside St. Mary's Hospital with a cake decorated for the occasion on July 22. 
Royal supporter Margaret Tyler holds decorative balloons as she waits outside St. Mary's Hospital in London on Saturday, July 20. 
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- Tom Rogan: The British royal family is enduring; can it maintain relevance in 21st century?
- He says how new royal parents, son reflect modern world to Brits is key to answer
- When queen's reign ends, Will, Kate will need to show worth, be relatable but distant, he says
- Rogan: New prince is an incarnation of royal tradition gelled to social modernity
Editor's note: Tom Rogan is a conservative writer for TheWeek.com and The Guardian. Although he's American, he grew up in London, England.
(CNN) -- The Windsors, ruling House of the British royal family, have endured world wars, personal tragedies and highly public scandals. In the 20th century, through moments of pain and joy, they provided the British people with a fixture of redoubtable comfort, an unchanging physical constitution in a world fraught with uncertainty.
But how will the British royals face their greatest challenge -- maintaining relevance in the 21st century?
The new prince born to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and her husband, Prince William, will be a critical part of the answer.
It may be true that the royal family remains ingrained at the heart of the British establishment. The title ER (Elizabeth Royal) adorns the helmets of British police officers, the laws of Parliament still require royal assent and the monarch remains technical head of the UK armed forces.
But things change.
Next February, Queen Elizabeth II will have worn the crown for 62 years. She's 86 and her public appearances are becoming less frequent. Elizabeth's reign will one day end. And without the princess who won hearts in war and then became a queen in peace, the royals will have to re-win the public's affection. And they'll have to do so by navigating a changing British society; one more socially liberal and less predisposed to tradition.
Recent history suggests it won't be easy.
Consider the queen's experience following Princess Diana's death in 1997. Facing intense pressure to show personal emotion in the face of a loss that was felt widely, the queen hesitated. Public expectations conflicted with her conception of royal purpose, that of a stoic, unmovable figurehead. Her inclination was to mourn in private, allowing the politicians to provide the public face of suffering. Eventually though, realizing that times had changed, the Queen of England bent to the will of her people.
She recognized the intrinsic truth of her throne, one that the future king, William, and his son (the future king) will also have to grasp: that their royal adornments of power exist subject to the grant of their British subjects.
Opinion: How to raise a royal baby
Royal baby excitement 
Will Queen Elizabeth step down? 
Cameron: Royal birth is 'wonderful news' Ultimately, in an era increasingly defined by vigorous social entrepreneurship, institutional relevance is determined less by history, than by a perception of worth. It's in this sense that change, the ability of the royals to evolve and find sustaining worth, will determine whether they rise or fall.
So far, it seems that William gets this. When, on their wedding day, the future king and his wife drove down The Mall in an open-topped Aston Martin, the watching throngs reacted with elation.
Why such glee?
Because the crowds perceived a royal interpretation of cool Britannia; both seemingly natural and delicately informal. A simple act hinting at the prospect of a modern monarchy. Representatives to be proud of.
This success is crucial. Where royals are regarded as living in an overly insulated bubble, major problems arise. Just look at the outrage that has followed the recent outing of Prince Charles' (next in line to the throne) tax planning.
For royalists then, it's fortunate that the just-born prince defines royal change. He offers a royal family that is both necessarily distant and semi-relatable, an incarnation of royal tradition gelled to social modernity. In short, a prince for the present and a king for the future. But just as he'll live without worldly want, the prince won't be afforded a normal life.
As his parents and uncle have repeatedly found out, the media has little interest in royal privacy, especially for a royal destined to one day become monarch. Just as the spotlights of the world fixed on his birth, so too will they follow him in life.
That's the price of modern royalty.
And British history has begun its latest chapter.
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Tom Rogan.
