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HRH Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge!

It's the news we've all been waiting for. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge released the name of their third child this morning...

Louis Arthur Charles


His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge.


More from the Telegraph:

'The names honour both the Prince's grandfather, Prince Charles, and Louis Mountbatten, the Duke of Edinburgh's mentor who was killed by an IRA bomb in 1979.
Prince George and Prince William both have Louis as middle names, with the announcement confounding bookies and experts who had believed it would not be repeated for the third baby Cambridge.
Arthur had been the favourite predicted first name, eventually announced as a middle name. It is also one of the Duke of Cambridge's own middle names.'

Mountbbatten was a British naval officer and statesman, an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and second cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II. During the Second World War, he was Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command. He was the last Viceroy of India (1947) and the first Governor-General of independent India (1947–48). He was instrumental in the relationship between the Queen and Prince Philip. He has been described as the "supreme operator" within royal circles. Louis Mountbatten was also a strong influence in the upbringing of his grand-nephew, Charles, Prince of Wales, and later as a mentor – "Honorary Grandfather" and "Honorary Grandson", they fondly called each other according to the Jonathan Dimbleby biography of the Prince. In 1979, Mountbatten, his grandson Nicholas, and two others were killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, which had placed a bomb in his fishing boat, Shadow V, in Mullaghmore, County Sligo, Ireland. As noted above, Prince George and Prince William both have Louis in their middle names.


More on the history of the name:

'French form of Ludovicus, the Latinized form of LUDWIG. This was the name of 18 kings of France, starting with Louis I the son of Charlemagne. Others include Louis IX (Saint Louis) who led two crusades and Louis XIV (called the Sun King) who was the ruler of France during the height of its power, the builder of the Palace of Versailles, and the longest reigning monarch in the history of Europe. It was also borne by kings of Germany (as Ludwig), Hungary (as Lajos), and other places. Apart from royalty, this name was only moderately popular in France during the Middle Ages. After the French Revolution, when Louis XVI was guillotined, it became less common.'

William and Kate certainly looked to royal family names for their choices. Both William and Charles have the middle name Arthur as did the Queen's father King George VI. It was hotly tipped by bookies as a frontrunner in recent months. Lady Sarah Chatto, the Queen's niece has a son named Arthur too. And of course Charles honours William's father.


People reports:

'Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, says using the same name across the immediate family isn’t unusual. In fact, Queen Victoria incorporated the name Albert (the name of her beloved husband, Prince Albert) in all of her sons’ names. Victoria’s grandson, George V, even incorporated it into his three sons’ names. 
“While she was alive, Queen Victoria wanted all her male descendants to have Albert included in their boys’ names,” Little tells PEOPLE. “Using Louis twice would have been the couple’s choice — they clearly regard it as a nice name.” Little adds, “Louis is obviously a favorite name and an indirect nod to the Duke of Edinburgh and his side of the family. I did think that Philip might have appeared in there somewhere.”
The names Michael and James (for Kate’s father and brother, respectively) were also highly speculated, but in the end, Will and Kate didn’t choose a name from the Middleton family.
“It is intriguing that there isn’t a Middleton name. You can understand a ‘royal’ name being used for the first son, but there was no pressure for the second son to have a purely royal name,” Little says. “If Kate had felt it was what she wanted she would have gotten it, but clearly she didn’t think Michael or James worked.”

The Duke and Duchess left St Mary's Hospital on Monday evening with their bundle of joy and returned to Kensington Palace.


The Palace said William would be spending the next few weeks focusing on his family, however in an unexpected engagement, he joined Prince Harry and Meghan for the annual Anzac Day service of commemoration and thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday morning. Of course, he was quizzed immediately upon arrival about the name the little prince. William was told by Alexander Downer, the Australian High Commissioner, that he favoured his own Christian name as a frontrunner for the Prince. The Duke replied: "Funny you should say that... It's a good name." The Dean of Westminster turned to Sir Jerry Mateparae, New Zealand High Commissioner to the UK and said: "Jerry would like it to be Jerry." William smiled and replied: "Jerry's a strong name." William added, everyone is "in good form, luckily. Sleeping is going reasonably well so far, so he's behaving himself, which is good".

Last night, he joined Harry to officially open the Greenhouse Centre which will provide sport, coaching and social facilities for young people in the surrounding community. As he entered the door he was asked by the gathered reporters about the name and said "we're working on it". He also discussed news he will be Harry's best man and jokingly said "revenge is sweet".


Joe Little shared this photo of Kensington Palace in the spring sunshine. With George at school, the family will remain in London for the time being. It's thought they will continue to spend most weekends and school holidays at their Norfolk country home, Anmer Hall.


KP has been a hive of activity throughout the week. The Middleton family have been visiting regularly. Carole is very much on hand at the moment and was photographed returning to KP on Wednesday with George after collecting him from Thomas's Battersea.



Pippa, who is expecting her first child, spent two hours at the Palace earlier this week. The Mail reports Michael has also met his third grandchild and James Middleton was seen departing too. Harry and Meghan also popped in to meet the baby.

Embed from Getty Images

A statement from Prince Charles with a nice spot of humour.


The Westminster Abbey bell rang a full peal of Cambridge Surprise Royal to celebrate the new arrival.


And there was a gun salute for the new prince.


For those considering sending gifts to mark the occasion, William and Kate have asked well-wishers to consider donating to their chosen charity Evelina London.


The Palace statement:

'The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are extremely grateful for the support and goodwill being expressed at this happy time. 
"However, Their Royal Highnesses do not wish to encourage the sending of gifts to them on this occasion, and feel that any generosity of spirit felt by individuals should be directed to those more in need.
"As such, they would be grateful if people wishing to give gifts look to provide their support in one of two ways"

"By donating to a children’s charity which is local to them (i.e. to the gift giver) as a way of marking the birth of Their Royal Highnesses' third child; or, alternatively, by donating to Evelina London Children's Hospital .'

The Duchess visited Evelina in February to officially launch the Nursing Now campaign. During the engagement, she visited Snow Leopard ward at St Thomas's Hospital, where she saw first-hand the expertise and dedication of nurses as they care for children. The ward cares for children who need help breathing to stay alive. The nurse-led team train carers and relatives on how to use a child’s ventilation equipment to prepare them for going home.


Prince William visited the hospital in January. All donations will go towards improving care for sick children - from life-saving research and the latest medical equipment, to innovative community services and the little things that help make a stay in hospital less scary for young people. Click here if you would like to donate.


Several of you have been in touch asking how the name is pronounced; it's the French pronunciation,  'LU-EE'. What do you think of the royal baby's name? Did William and Kate choose any of your name predictions? I wasn't expecting Louis at all, and despite all the speculation, William and Kate managed to surprise us. I was surprised not see a Middleton family name like Peter, Michael or Francis incorporated, and many also expected to see Philip in there. It's a beautiful name steeped in royal history though, and I very much look forward to seeing Prince Louis with his brother and sister in the years ahead :)