Will and Kate, Anthony and Huma: Public couples and private moments

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The newborn Prince of Cambridge leaves St Mary’s Hospital with his parents the Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. (John Stillwell / AFP/Getty Images)

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The newborn Prince of Cambridge leaves St Mary’s Hospital with his parents the Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. (John Stillwell / AFP/Getty Images)

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Britain’s Prince William and wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, hold the Prince of Cambridge outside of St. Mary’s Hospital in London where the duchess gave birth Monday. The royal couple are expected to head to Kensington Palace with their son, the third in line to the British throne. (BEN STANSALL / AFP/Getty Images)

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Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, holds the Prince of Cambridge outside of St. Mary’s Hospital in London where she gave birth Monday. (Andy Rain / EPA)

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Britain’s Prince William and wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, hold the Prince of Cambridge outside of St. Mary’s Hospital in London where the duchess gave birth Monday. (Lefteris Pitarakis / Associated Press)

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Britain’s Prince William and wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, hold the Prince of Cambridge outside of St. Mary’s Hospital in London where the duchess gave birth Monday. (Scott Heavey / Getty Images)

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Prince William and Kate show their newborn boy to the world’s media, leaving the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London. (Leon Neal / AFP/Getty Images)

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Britain’s Prince William and wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, leave St. Mary’s Hospital in London with their son, the Prince of Cambridge. (Oli Scarff / Getty Images)

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Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge’s new-born baby boy, the Prince of Cambridge, is introduced to the world’s media outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London on July 23, 2013. (Carl Court / AFP/Getty Images)

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The Prince of Cambridge is seated in his fride from St. Mary’s Hospital in London wherehewas born Monday. (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

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Britain’s Prince William and wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, leave the hospital with their newborn son, the Prince of Cambridge. (Andrew Cowie / AFP/Getty Images)

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Britain’s Prince William and wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, leave the hospital with their newborn son, the Prince of Cambridge. (Chris Jackson / Getty Images)

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Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, arrive at St. Mary’s Hospital in London to visit their new baby grandson. Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate on Tuesday thanked staff at the hospital where their baby son was born, as the world waited for a name and, hopefully, a glimpse of the future king. (Ben Stansall / AFP/Getty Images)

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Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall arrive at The Lindo Wing to visit The Duke and Duchess Of Cambridge and their newborn son at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. (Chris Jackson / Getty Images)

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A police officer tries to control people trying to take pictures of a notice proclaiming the birth of a baby boy to Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace in London. (Sang Tan / Associated Press)

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People look through the railing of Buckingham Palace in London at a public notice proclaiming the birth of a baby boy to Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge. (Sang Tan / Associated Press)

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Carole and Michael Middleton, right, parents of the new mother, arrive at at St. Mary’s Hospital to visit the royal couple and their grandson. (Andy Rain / EPA)

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The Changing of the Guard continues as scheduled outside Buckingham Palace. International messages of congratulations poured in for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge following the birth of the third in line to the throne. (Will Oliver / AFP/Getty Images)

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Well-wishers wave flags outside the hospital after the birth of the royal baby. (Andy Rain / EPA)

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The Tower Bridge serves as a backdrop as a 62-gun salute is unleashed from the Tower of London in honor of the arrival of the new prince -- 21 because it is a royal birth, 20 because the tower is a royal palace and 21 for the city of London, according to the BBC. (Justin Tallis / AFP/Getty Images)

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Royalist Terry Hutt reads a newspaper reporting of the birth of the newest member of Britain’s royal family outside St. Mary’s Hospital. (Justin Tallis / AFP / Getty Images)

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Self-proclaimed town crier Tony Appleton announces the birth of a baby boy to Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, on Monday outside St. Mary’s Hospital in London. Catherine, 31, gave birth to their first child at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital. Meanwhile, hundreds of royal baby-watchers, journalists and photographers waited outside in anticipation of the royal birth. (Andy Rain / EPA)

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The head of news at the royal household, Ed Perkins, leaves the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital with the medical bulletin about the birth of the royal baby in west London. Prince William’s wife, Kate, gave birth Monday to a baby boy who is in line to inherit the British throne, Kensington Palace said in a statement. (Andrew Cowie / AFP/Getty Images)

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Members of the world’s media gather outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London as the Duchess of Cambridge goes into labor. (Chris Jackson / Getty Images)

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A pregnant Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge meets children during an April visit to Naomi House hospice in Sutton Scotney, Winchester. (David Parker / AFP/Getty Images)

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A bookmaker’s board shows the odds for royal baby gender and names outside St. Mary’s hospital in London. (Rick Findler / EPA)

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Crowds of tourists gather on the steps of the Queen Victoria Memorial Statue outside Buckingham Palace in central London. (Justin Tallis / AFP/Getty Images)

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Members of the public gather outside St. Mary’s Hospital as the Duchess of Cambridge goes into labor. (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

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The media set up outside the hospital anticipating the birth. (Chris Jackson / Getty Images)

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Terry Hutt shows his British pride outside the hospital. (Andrew Cowie / AFP/Getty Images)

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Reporters and photographers gather outside St. Mary’s Hospital. (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

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A sea of cameras is aimed at the hospital. (Lefteris Pitarakis / Associated Press)

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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, attending the National Review of Queen’s Scouts at Windsor Castle in April. (Olivia Harris / AFP/Getty Images)

By Carla Hall

July 23, 2013 6:34 PM PT

What a remarkable news day.

In London, Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, came out of a hospital with their newborn baby in tow, walked over to reporters to chat, tease each other and tell the world’s media that they were still working on a name.

Meanwhile, in New York, mayoral candidate and disgraced sexting congressman Anthony Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, walked into a room and over to a bank of microphones, and each proceeded to talk about what a jerk Weiner had been but declared that they had decided to stay married anyway.

FULL COVERAGE: Royal baby born

OK, the substance of the news itself may not have been globally significant. But what was unusual was how disarmingly personal these very public couples were. Of course, both appearances were orchestrated. In Abedin’s case, she was reading from notes — and was nervous, as she also admitted.

But in both cases, the couples offered more than the media probably expected. By now, it’s traditional for a British royal couple with an infant heir to pose on the steps of a hospital for pictures. William’s mother, Diana, the Princess of Wales, and Prince Charles did that some 31 years ago. Same hospital, same steps. What’s different here is that William and Kate took the baby over to the assembled media and showed him off as if the assembled reporters and photographers were guests at an impromptu baby shower.

“He’s got her lips,” said William, gazing down at the baby.

VIDEO: Hail the Prince of Cambridge!

“No, no, no,” protested Kate, turning to her husband and laughing.

About the name? William promised to get back to the media shortly on that. Later, they reemerged from the hospital and we watched as William installed the baby seat in the car and drove off with his family.

It may be less unusual (and always uncomfortable) to watch a wife stand by the side of a once-disrespectful husband. But even though Hillary Rodham Clinton — for whom Abedin worked at the State Department — set the standard for standing-by-hubby moments when she famously uttered on “60 Minutes” that she was not just being Tammy Wynette standing by her man, there was something riveting about watching Abedin and Weiner deal with revelations that he had still been sexting after his resignation from Congress.

POLITICAL SCANDALS: Sex, lies and lawsuits

“Anthony has made some horrible mistakes, both before he resigned from Congress and after,” said Abedin. Weiner hung his head as if thinking, ‘Yup, that’s me.’ But after “a whole lot of therapy,” she has forgiven him, Abedin said.

Both couples are dealing with very different situations. But in both situations, I think, each couple feel like the media is ever-present in their lives — and in the case of the Waleses, the media have been outside the hospital nonstop before labor, during labor and after. And with cameras relentlessly in their faces, they chose to be more revealing, not less. It was a smart choice.

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