The Royal Baby Town Crier: Relive The Happy Announcement; Where Is Tony Appleton Now?

Those who tuned in to get a glimpse of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s baby boy last summer may vividly remember the royal crier announcement of the British heir's arrival outside St Mary’s Hospital in London July 22:

“Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. On this day, the 22nd of July, the year 2013, we welcome with honorable duty a future king. The first born of their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The third in line to the throne. Our new prince is the third great grandchild of Her Majesty the Queen and the first grandchild of the Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. May he be long lived, happy and glorious and one day to reign over us. God save the Queen!" he said, ending his speech with a celebratory ringing of the bell.

While the crier’s announcement made international headlines, he was later found to be a professional impersonator from Romford, northeast London, named Tony Appleton, not an individual officially hired by the royal court to announce Prince George’s arrival.

Despite not receiving the royal seal of approval, Appleton, then 76 (who goes by the moniker Lord of the Manor of Great Baddow), had no qualms about discussing his highly-publicized appearance outside the Lindo Wing.

“I’m a royalist. I love the royal family,” Appleton told the Associated Press, revealing he arrived at the medical facility after being tipped off by a British journalist that the baby had been born. “I was not invited, I just crashed the party,” Appleton later told to Yahoo.

So where is the royal baby town crier now?

One year after Prince George’s arrival (and, according to Middleton, with no new royal babies on the horizon), Appleton is no longer announcing the British royal family's offspring, but instead utilizing his two decades worth of impersonation skills for a variety of resources. According to Appleton’s official site, he available for hire for promotions, endorsements, premieres, special events, film and television and even voiceovers.

“His considerable professional skills are backed by a career in the leisure industry followed by training under a Royal Toastmaster,” reads Appleton’s biography. “He is familiar with the particular protocol of the various societies and organizations and can adapt confidently to the specific needs of any event.”

Appleton also serves as the President of the Guild of International Millennium Town Criers. The Executive Guild of Toastmaters reports that he was previously given the “coveted” Town Crier of the Year award by the International Town Criers Authority.