Kate Middleton's 'big pressure' in picking names for George, Charlotte and Louis
The art of naming a royal baby is incredibly delicate, especially if that baby is destined to one day be King or Queen. Almost every royal name has at least one, if not more, links to previous royals. Whether it is William, George, Charles or Elizabeth, it is important that there are no negative historical associations which will draw comparisons in their future.
While Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis’ names are certainly very fitting for a future King and senior royals, the Princess of Wales has previously admitted that she and Prince William struggled with the pressure of choosing and announcing the names they had chosen.
During a visit to Royal Surrey County Hospital’s Maternity Unit in 2022, The Princess of Wales made several candid comments about her three children to new parents, PEOPLE reported. One revelation came after she spoke with one couple about the difficulty in choosing a name for their new arrival.
New mum Amy revealed what Kate had said to her as she spoke with PEOPLE, she said: “She just really talked about her own children including how they chose their names. She said they were their favourite names and that obviously the world was waiting for them to name their children — and that felt like quite a big pressure!”
Elsewhere during her visit to the hospital Kate spoke about her youngest son, Prince Louis, and admitted: “I keep thinking Louis is a baby but he’s a big boy now. I just feels like yesterday.”
Much has previously been made of what the couple wanted to name their first born. It seems impossible to believe that there was a chance the young royal could have had another name but it seems he wasn’t originally going to be a George – but rather an Alexander.
According to royal expert Katie Nicholl, The Princess of Wales had her “heart set on” the name Alexander, though the couple had not decided for sure. Nicholl said: “Courtiers insisted the pair had not found out the sex of their unborn baby, and friends close to the couple claim William wanted a surprise.
Although Kate apparently suspected it was a boy and had set her heart on the name Alexander, they had not yet decided what to call their firstborn.”
Nicholl added that during her pregnancy the Princess referred to George as “our little grape” and that she had a hunch she was carrying a boy because he kicked so much.
When his name was announced a few days after his birth, many gamblers rejoiced as George was the favourite to win at 10-1. His name has many strong royal ties.
George has been the regnal name of six kings, including the late Queen’s father, King George VI. His first middle name is Alexander, which is the male version of the late Queen Elizabeth’s first middle name, Alexandra.
