Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Announce the Name of Their Baby
Since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's baby boy arrived Monday morning royals fans all over the world have been eagerly anticipating the announcement of the baby's name. Now, at last, we have an answer-one that might just lose gamblers a bit of coin. This morning after giving the baby his public debut, Harry and Meghan announced that they have named their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
As early as last October-just days after the news of the pregnancy broke-betting sites like Betfair and Ladbrokes began taking wagers on everything from the baby's gender and birth weight to the day of the week it would be born. But by far the most contentious bit of betting was the issue of the name. (As we didn't know that the child would be a boy until he arrived, bets were placed on both girls' and boys' names.)
As of early April, Elizabeth was holding on as the crowd favorite on Ladbrokes with 6/1 odds, and there may be a special reason for that. In addition to the obvious-Queen Elizabeth II being Harry's grandmother-many suspected that the royal baby would be born in late April, possibly on Easter this year, in which case the child would have shared more than just blood with its regal great-grandmother: they would also have shared a birthday. Adding a first name to the list of things that the Queen would have in common with the infant would only make sense.
Of course, Elizabeth was far from the only name in the running.
There's a long tradition of family names being handed down to royal babies, so it's no surprise that the betting front-runners were mostly comprised of names with some history.
Diana, the name of Prince Harry's late mother, ranked high on most lists-it was the top pick on Betfair in April and held second place on Ladbrokes with 8/1 odds. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have certainly proven that they care a great deal about Diana's legacy, paying tribute to her at their wedding with white garden roses-the late Princess's favorite flower-in the bouquet and even using gems from her personal collection to craft Meghan's engagement ring. However, one of Princess Charlotte's middle names is already Diana, so even if the baby had been a girl, the couple might have optend for something else.
Likewise Victoria, an homage to Prince Harry's ancestor Queen Victoria, was also a top choice, along with Albert, the name of Queen Victoria's beloved husband.
High ranking on both sites were the names Arthur and Alice; options that were also popular in the anticipation of Prince William and Kate's three children. Arthur is one of the middle names of both Prince William and Prince Louis and is, of course, a nod to the great English king of myth and legend (as well as one of Queen Victoria's sons.) Meanwhile, Alice has remained a favorite of bookies for years given its royal pedigree as the name of both Queen Elizabeth's aunt and Prince Philip's mother.
Philip himself was another potential source for the baby's name (Ladbrokes ranked it with 12/1 odds) along with Charles (Betfair's #3 pick), and Doria (50/1). Princess Diana's surname, Spencer, was also in the mix at 33/1.
And while the rankings may have made some names seem like shoe-ins, the royals have a history of bucking the odds-Louis was hardly the most likely name for William and Kate's youngest, coming in at just 33/1 odds. Among the ranks of "Mary"s and "Alexander"s Ladbrokes also included some more esoteric options for fans to bet on, including Barack and Winston at 100/1 odds and Brexit at 500/1.
According to Prince Charles, the public was very forthcoming with ideas for baby Sussex during Harry and Meghan's royal tour of Australia and New Zealand last fall. "Incidentally, ladies and gentlemen, my son Harry tells me that during their recent tour of Australia, he and his wife were offered countless thoughtful suggestions for the naming of their forthcoming baby," Charles said. "Just between us, I suspect that Kylie and Shane may possibly make the shortlist."
Harry and Meghan were quizzed on baby names during a tram ride in Melbourne. Meghan said: “We've been given a long list of names from everyone. We’re going to sit down and have a look at them. We haven’t thought of one as it’s still quite early.” #RoyalBaby #RoyalVisitAustralia
- Lizzie Robinson (@LizzieITV) October 18, 2018
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