The Sun Front page 23/07/2013
As I write this, the name James is apparently the bookies favourite to be the name for the newborn son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
However, Prince Edward already has a son born in 2007 by the name, who would have been styled as Prince James had his parents not chosen to instead style him as Viscount Severn instead.
That makes me highly doubt the child will have James as a first name.
My gut feeling is that George is the top choice for a boy.
Why?
It’s quite simply really: there are only really three living royals who have any likelihood of ascending to the throne: Prince Charles; Prince William; and Prince Harry.
Of those three, only Prince Charles wears the name George, and only as his third middle name.
It seems the most likely, but it’s not a certainty that George will be his name.
It’s worth noting that there has been speculation before that Prince Charles may take George as his regnal name upon his ascension the the throne, i.e. he becomes George VII, not Charles III. The big reason for this lies along the lines of the previous two sovereigns to bear the name Charles both have questionable legacies (one was a playboy, the other was beheaded).
It’s certainly not an uncommon practice, as whilst our current monarch reigns by her first name, her predecessor and father reigned as George VI, but he was born Albert Frederick Arthur George. Good ol’ Queen Victoria reigned by her middle name, as her first name was Alexandrina.
Other choices for boys are a little less intuitive, given that many clear favourites such as James, Edward and Charles are currently ‘assigned’ so to speak to another prince-ly member of the family.
There is the chance of Richard, which is a middle name of Prince Edward, but given that Richard III has been in the news a lot recently (his remains were discovered in Leicester not long ago and he is due to be reburied sometime soon) it seems unlikely for a first name, given the notority of Richard III.
That said, Richard the Lionheart might well balance that out. Especially when you consider we could be seeing a King Charles in the coming years.
I don’t particularly believe that the Duke&Duchess of Cambridge will choose a first name already in use by another male styled a Prince, not least because of the potential confusion, so this automatically rules several names out of the running for first name status: Philip; Charles; Edward; Henry; James; Andrew; and Michael.
These names are all, however, still just as likely to be used for middle names. It’s worth noting that Michael is the name of the Duchess’ father, and thus despite Michael seeing rare use by the royals, this fact really rather increases the likelihood of Michael’s inclusion.
The glaringly obvious name left over to pick from is Arthur, and this is one of William’s middle names and indeed Prince Charles’ middle name, too. Of course, Prince William could kick off a new family naming trend and give his eldest son the middle name Arthur, too. There is also the chance of the little one receiving William as a middle name.
Another option is Frederick, also popularly used by royals in the last century or two. It’s also increasingly popular amongst we commoners in the UK at the moment which would appeal to the down-to-earth couple, and the nickname of Freddie could appeal in a similar way to how Prince Henry has always been known by his nickname of Harry to the point that many don’t even realise that it is a nickname.
Then there’s also the possibility of Alexander, too, which is a middle name of the aforementioned Viscount Severn.
If the couple choose to pick a completely different name, possibilities include Rupert, Laurence and Francis, although it’s almost certain that these would be considered for middle names only.
And below, one of the first pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their newborn son, the Prince of Cambridge outside the Lindo Wing earlier this evening.
The moment the world waited for
Mer de Noms 