After the announcement yesterday that Princess Eugenie had given birth to a baby boy, speculation immediately began as to the name of the newest member of the Royal family.
Eugenie gave birth yesterday morning to a bouncing baby boy weighing 8 lbs,1 oz at London’s The Portland Hospital.
The Family released a short statement to say that everybody involved is healthy and happy and that the Queen is looking forward to welcoming her ninth great-grandchild into the world.
But the proud parents, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, have yet to announce a name for the little guy. Duchess Kate and Duchess Meghan took a couple of days to announce, so we can reasonably assume a name will be coming shortly.
Is Princess Eugenie’s baby likely to be Arthur or Philip?
As you might expect, the British bookmakers instantly started offering odds on what the name would be. Yesterday, the bookies were going with Arthur in the top spot, but that changed overnight to Philip, the same name as the baby’s great-grandfather, Prince Philip.
Two other names that have featured quite highly on the bookmakers’ predictions list are James and Godfrey.
There’s also a very good chance he’ll be named after one of his many high-profile male relatives, including cousin William, great uncle Edward, or even grandfather Andrew.
Frederick and Oliver have also been touted as possibilities. In fact, any regal sounding English name could be a possibility.
We can probably rule out George, Louis, and Archie, considering they are the names of Kate and Meghan’s sons.
However, all those who are attempting to guess the name should be aware that Princess Eugenie has already broken with tradition twice.
The parents of Royal babies traditionally announce a birth by posing with the newborn for photos outside the hospital, but Eugenie opted for posting an adorable black and white pic of the tiny tot’s hand to Instagram.
The timing of the announcement also broke tradition, as it was announced ten hours after the birth instead of the usual 2 to 3 hours.
Princess Eugenie’s son will 11th in line to the throne
Whatever the baby’s name, he will be 11th in line to the throne, between his mother, who is tenth in line, and his grand-uncle Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex.
So, it seems unlikely he will ever be the King of England as that would require a very long series of misfortunate events.
The baby boy will not have a hereditary title and will not be addressed as His Royal Highness. This is because his father, Jack Brooksbank, despite being married to a Royal, does not have a hereditary title, and the titles are passed down through males.
In other Royal news this week, it was announced yesterday that the Royal Family is set to earn millions each year for the next decade following the sale of land to be used by energy companies to build wind farms.
Also, this week, Buckingham Palace has been forced to deny claims that Queens Elizabeth blocked the passage of a 1970s law that would have revealed the extent of her personal wealth.