Royal Baby named
Britain’s Prince
William and his wife Kate on Wednesday named
their baby boy George Alexander Louis, sticking
firmly to royal tradition with a first name used by
six previous monarchs.
George was the bookmakers’ clear favourite for the
third-in-line to the throne as it pays apparent
tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s father King George
VI, the infant’s great-great-grandfather, who died
in 1952.
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are
delighted to announce that they have named their
son George Alexander Louis. The baby will be
known as His Royal Highness Prince George of
Cambridge,” Kensington Palace said in a statement.
George Alexander Louis and his parents
The baby will not automatically be King George VII
whenever he comes to the throne, however, as there
have been reports that William’s father Prince
Charles may take that title when he becomes king.
The announcement came just hours after the
queen visited William and Kate at Kensington
Palace, their London residence, and met her
newborn great-grandson for the first time.
The 87-year-old monarch would have given final
clearance for the name to ensure that it was in
keeping with the traditions of the House of
Windsor and a monarchy that has lasted more
than 1,000 years.
Louis is one of William’s middle names and was
also the first name of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the
Viceroy of India and a mentor to Prince Charles.
Mountbatten was killed in an IRA bombing in the
1970s.
Bookmakers had George and James as the
favourites.
The naming was relatively quick by royal standards.
Charles and his first wife Diana took a week to
announce William’s name in 1982, while the world
had to wait a month after Charles was born in
1948.
Under British law, parents have 42 days to register
the birth — and the name — of their child. It is not
clear whether William and Kate have officially done
so yet.
The queen earlier spent just over half an hour at
the palace, where the young couple spent the first
night after leaving hospital with the baby, before
she was driven away in a green Bentley limousine.
She has said she is “thrilled” about the latest
addition to the family, who will one day succeed
her as head of state of Britain and monarch of 15
Commonwealth realms around the globe.
A few hours later, the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge took the little prince to stay with his
maternal grandparents in the village of Bucklebury
west of London, arriving in a convoy of four-by-
four vehicles with police outriders.
Carole and Michael Middleton, self-made
millionaires from a party goods business, visited the
baby in hospital on Tuesday, where Kate’s mother
pronounced her first grandson “absolutely
beautiful”.
Prince George’s uncle Prince Harry — William’s
younger brother, who has been knocked down to
fourth in line to the throne — and Kate’s sister
Pippa Middleton made separate visits to the couple
at the palace.
William is taking two weeks of paternity leave from
his job as a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue
pilot, and the couple, both 31, are expected to take
some time away from the cameras.
“This is now private and quiet time for them to get
to know their son,” a palace spokesman said.
Royal aides said the couple had no immediate
plans to hire a nanny, and Kate is expected to rely
on her mother for support in the early weeks.
– Echoes of William’s own birt
William and his wife Kate on Wednesday named
their baby boy George Alexander Louis, sticking
firmly to royal tradition with a first name used by
six previous monarchs.
George was the bookmakers’ clear favourite for the
third-in-line to the throne as it pays apparent
tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s father King George
VI, the infant’s great-great-grandfather, who died
in 1952.
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are
delighted to announce that they have named their
son George Alexander Louis. The baby will be
known as His Royal Highness Prince George of
Cambridge,” Kensington Palace said in a statement.
George Alexander Louis and his parents
The baby will not automatically be King George VII
whenever he comes to the throne, however, as there
have been reports that William’s father Prince
Charles may take that title when he becomes king.
The announcement came just hours after the
queen visited William and Kate at Kensington
Palace, their London residence, and met her
newborn great-grandson for the first time.
The 87-year-old monarch would have given final
clearance for the name to ensure that it was in
keeping with the traditions of the House of
Windsor and a monarchy that has lasted more
than 1,000 years.
Louis is one of William’s middle names and was
also the first name of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the
Viceroy of India and a mentor to Prince Charles.
Mountbatten was killed in an IRA bombing in the
1970s.
Bookmakers had George and James as the
favourites.
The naming was relatively quick by royal standards.
Charles and his first wife Diana took a week to
announce William’s name in 1982, while the world
had to wait a month after Charles was born in
1948.
Under British law, parents have 42 days to register
the birth — and the name — of their child. It is not
clear whether William and Kate have officially done
so yet.
The queen earlier spent just over half an hour at
the palace, where the young couple spent the first
night after leaving hospital with the baby, before
she was driven away in a green Bentley limousine.
She has said she is “thrilled” about the latest
addition to the family, who will one day succeed
her as head of state of Britain and monarch of 15
Commonwealth realms around the globe.
A few hours later, the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge took the little prince to stay with his
maternal grandparents in the village of Bucklebury
west of London, arriving in a convoy of four-by-
four vehicles with police outriders.
Carole and Michael Middleton, self-made
millionaires from a party goods business, visited the
baby in hospital on Tuesday, where Kate’s mother
pronounced her first grandson “absolutely
beautiful”.
Prince George’s uncle Prince Harry — William’s
younger brother, who has been knocked down to
fourth in line to the throne — and Kate’s sister
Pippa Middleton made separate visits to the couple
at the palace.
William is taking two weeks of paternity leave from
his job as a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue
pilot, and the couple, both 31, are expected to take
some time away from the cameras.
“This is now private and quiet time for them to get
to know their son,” a palace spokesman said.
Royal aides said the couple had no immediate
plans to hire a nanny, and Kate is expected to rely
on her mother for support in the early weeks.
– Echoes of William’s own birt
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