Catherine and Prince William, Duchess and Duke of Cambridge, take in the annual Trooping The Colour ceremony at Buckingham Palace on June 15.
Credit: Getty Images
If there was ever going to be a baby to rival North West, it was going to have to be royalty – real royalty. So it’s no wonder that anticipation of Kate and Will’s first has elicited a deluge of bespoke cakes, ceramic memorabilia and, yes, even plaques for those empty walls in your living rooms.
Kate isn’t due until July 13 but outside the palace walls the media machine is going into overdrive. Without public appearances to fuel endless maternity fashion articles, any scrap of information is eagerly gobbled up (see my plethora of Google Alerts re: Kate’s doctor).
Shady “sources” have apparently come forward to tell us that Kate is all about the natural birth, while everyone is playing the baby-name guessing game (us included). So despite the relative openness of the royal family right now, the media is having to scrap for tidbits of gossip. If nothing else, the baby will have a lot of reading material one day.
The players
Queen Elizabeth: A woman who needs no introduction but just in case you were unaware, she is the soon-to-be great grandmother of aforementioned baby.
Prince Phillip: Expectant great-grandfather of the royal baby. He is the husband of Queen Elizabeth, and at 92 is the oldest man in the royal family.
Prince Charles: Prince William’s dad. At 62 he’s been waiting for the throne for most of his life, but has filled that time with many a charitable endeavor.
The Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles: Former lover of Prince Charles and now his bona fide wife, making her step-grandmother to the royal baby.
Prince William: The baby daddy. All-around good guy who, as a child, wanted to be a police officer so he could protect his mum. Let’s hope that attitude rubs off on his offspring.
Kate Middleton: The baby mama, and already queen of England’s hearts. Her pregnancy wardrobe cemented her sartorial skills, so look forward to some impeccable baby outfits.
Prince Harry: The black sheep (naked photos? Check.) of the royal family and future uncle of the royal baby.
The rise of social media
Twitter is used as a platform to get far too excited over many, many negligible things, like Justin Bieber or inserting “swag” into a quote from the BBC’s “Sherlock.” But #RoyalBaby has been swamping the Twitterati’s feeds for some time; looks like we’re finally sorting out our priorities. A recent count saw it trend at the rate of a tweet per minute, and with hashtags storming the gates of Facebook nowadays, its users are slowly but surely getting in on the #RoyalBaby action. But it seems Kate Middleton is the real star of this show, with her name being tweeted once every four seconds at the time of writing. Will is comparatively trailing behind with around a mere two mentions per minute.
Odds for what the name will be
Let’s be real, it would be kind of brilliant if Kate and Will decided to name their baby after a citrus fruit or compass direction. But if the odds are anything to go by, the British public doesn’t think the imminent parents are going to head down Kimye’s route anytime soon – the baby name is clearly an innovation-free zone.
The most popular girl’s name is Alexandra, topping the charts at 5/2. Charlotte closely follows at 4/1, a choice that would call to mind Queen Charlotte, rumored to have been the first black queen of England. The royal classic that is Elizabeth is put at 5/1 whilst Diana – the name of Will’s late mother – is at 6/1.
Boys names appear somewhat lower down the list, given Kate’s slip of the tongue several months ago. George is the frontrunner at 12/1 with Charles, James, Philip and Louis all sharing 25/1 odds. Charles, like Diana, would pay homage to Prince William’s parents, while Philip would make the baby’s great-grandfather his namesake. Whatever they choose, it looks like the couple will be keeping it in the family.
Odds on the name from bookies
Ladbrokes: Alexandra 4/1, Elizabeth 5/1, Diana 6/1, Victoria 7/1, Frances 8/1
William Hill: Alexandra 5/2, Charlotte 4/1, Elizabeth 5/1, Diana 6/1, Victoria 7/1
Paddy Power: Alexandra 3/1, Charlotte 6/1, Victoria 7/1, George 8/1, Elizabeth 8/1
Betfair: Alexandra 5/2, Victoria 7/1, Elizabeth 6/1, Diana 6/1, George 13/1
