Whenever a new baby is born into the royal family, it’s headline news.
And, while discovering the new baby’s name is at the very top of our list of priorities, here at ED! we like to delve a little deeper.
So what’s in a name?
Here, we discover the hidden meaning behind the names Prince William and wife Kate picked for the three adorable Cambridge kids.
Royal family news: Prince George
Born on July 22 2013, Prince George Alexander Louis is the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Each aspect of his name is a reference to members of the royal family who have come before him.
George is a direct tribute to the Queen’s father, King George VI – and the young prince will one day be the nation’s seventh King George when he takes the throne.
His first middle name is the masculine version of great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s middle name, Alexandra.
Read more: Royal cartoon featuring Prince George under fire
Louis is also one of Prince William’s middle names, but royal watchers have picked up on another special reason why Will and Kate picked the name for their firstborn.
The name is likely to be a reference to Prince Philip’s uncle, the late Lord Louis Mountbatten. He was killed in 1979 when a bomb planted by the IRA exploded on his boat.
A look at the actual meaning of the name George also throws up an interesting definition.
As well as references to medieval legend St George, who defeated the dragon, the name actually originates from the Greek for farmer or earth worker.
However, at school, George’s friends simply know him as George Cambridge.
What’s in a name? Princess Charlotte
The Cambridges’ only daughter, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, made her entrance on May 2 2015.
It’s thought her first name was chosen to honour two members of her family.
Her aunt Pippa Middleton has Charlotte as a middle name, and it’s also the feminine version of her grandfather Prince Charles’ first name.
Read more: William and Kate’s ‘promise to kids amid extraordinary circumstances of royal life’
Elizabeth is an obvious reference to her great-grandmother, Her Majesty the Queen, while Diana is a tribute to her late grandmother, Princess Diana.
Looking into the origins of the name Charlotte, it gained popularity in the 18th century, as England’s Queen Charlotte came to the throne.
As previously reported, it’s also a feminine form of the name Charles, which means free man.
And, just like her brother, Charlotte goes by the much simpler name of Charlotte Cambridge at school.
Royal family news: Prince Louis
Kate and Will welcomed third child Prince Louis Arthur Charles on April 23 2018.
Like his big brother and father, his first name is an obvious tribute to Lord Mountbatten.
Arthur was the middle name of King George VI, so it’s thought that is why William and Kate selected that for their son’s first middle name.
Charles pays tribute to his grandfather, Prince Charles.
The name Louis actually has its origins in France and Germany.
In fact, Louis is the French form of Ludwig, which means famous warrior.
How the Queen intervened in the Cambridge kids’ names
If the monarch hadn’t have stepped in before the birth of the three children, their names would’ve been very different.
She intervened to overwrite a rule put in place by King George V in 1917.
He ruled on which royals were allowed to have titles and who was too far down the line of succession to have one.
King George V decided that all of the sovereign’s children would automatically become a prince or princess, as well as any grandchildren born through the male line.
But great-grandchildren weren’t included on the list – until the Queen stepped in ahead of Prince George’s birth.
She declared that he would get a title, and so would the rest of William and Kate’s future children.
In the case of Louis, it’s likely he would’ve been called Master Louis Cambridge or Master Louis Windsor had the royal ruling not been amended.
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