Not long after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced they were expecting a little bundle of royal joy, bookies started placing bets on what the little tyke will be named.
The online betting site Ladbrokes currently places odds in favor of Victoria, Albert and Diana. And as far as gender goes, it’s pretty much split down the middle.
And even though Prince Charles joked that the couple might add Kylie or Shane to the shortlist of baby names as a nod to the Australian trip where they announced their pregnancy, those two names don’t really fit with royal protocol.
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If you recall, traditional names like Mary, Albert, Alice and Victoria were thought to be possible names for baby Louis before Kate Middleton gave birth, but according to a royal expert, Baby Sussex could be given an unexpected name.
Carolyn Harris, a professor of history at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies and author of Raising Royalty: 1,000 Years of Royal Parenting tells Vogue Australia:
The further down the line of succession, the more likely you are to have a more unique or untraditional name.
As Vogue points out, “Royals across the globe have their own naming customs but most tend to call upon a shortlist of recycled names, which serve as familial calling cards.” Take Princess Charlotte, for instance. Her full name is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana as a tribute to both Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, as well as to the Queen.
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And contrary to popular belief, the Queen does not have to approve of a royal baby name before it is given. Says Harris, “We see, from the diversity of names among the Queen’s descendants, that the Queen does seem willing to allow the descendants to choose their own names.”
The Queen, however, is the first to be notified when the baby arrives. She then tells the town crier, who announces it to the public. It’s a custom that stretches back to medieval times when people couldn’t read or write.
