When will we learn the new British Princess' name?
Princess Charlotte has a certain ring to it. Or how about Princess Alice?
Britain's newborn
princess has spent her first night at home in London's Kensington
Palace, but the guessing game continues over what her name will be.
It's possible she will
be named Sunday by her parents, Prince William and the Duchess of
Cambridge, but there's no fixed timetable for the announcement.
Meanwhile, Britain's
legal bookmakers have been busy taking in thousands of bets for the
baby's name. For weeks, they have been saying that Alice is the clear
favorite. But in recent days Charlotte, the feminine form of Charles,
has become the front runner.
Other top possibilities included Olivia, Victoria, Elizabeth, Alexandra and Diana, the name of William's late mother.
The newborn may herald a
new generation in the monarchy, but it is customary for royals to look
to their past for name ideas. The repetition of names in each generation
is at least partly an effort to preserve the continuity of one of the
world's oldest institutions.
Related: Kate and William Leave Hospital With New Baby Girl
A princess called
Charlotte — which is French in origin — would be a nod to her
grandfather, Prince Charles. In royal history, George IV named his only
child Charlotte, but she died in childbirth at 21. George III's wife was
Queen Charlotte, who was born 1744.
As for Alice: Queen
Victoria named her second daughter Princess Alice, who was the
great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II's husband, Philip. Her
granddaughter, also called Alice, was Philip's mother.
Many think it is likely
that William and Kate would use the name Diana — though probably as one
of the baby's middle names. Like most royals, the baby's brother Prince
George has more than one middle name (George Alexander Louis), and the
same treatment is expected for her.
When George was born in
2013, the royal couple took two days to reveal his name, waiting until
after the queen had met her new great-grandson.
William and Kate
introduced the baby princess Saturday evening to the world, just 12
hours after Kate checked into London's St. Mary's Hospital to give
birth. The tiny highness was born at 8:34 a.m. local time Saturday, weighing in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces.
The princess is fourth
in line for the British throne, after her grandfather Charles, her
father William and her older brother George. She will be known formally
as Her Royal Highness, Princess (name) of Cambridge.
William's father and
stepmother, Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, went to
Kensington Palace on Sunday to visit the baby for the first time,
joining Kate's mother Carole Middleton and her sister Pippa.
The royal couple is
expected to spend several days at their London home before traveling to
their country home on the queen's sprawling Sandringham estate, 120
miles north of London. The family is likely to stay out of the public
eye in the coming days.
The princess's birth has
mesmerized much of Britain, eclipsing the country's hard-fought
election campaign on the front pages of British newspapers. A number of
London landmarks including Tower Bridge were lit in pink overnight to
commemorate her birth.
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