UK: Birth of a daughter to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Finally the time has arrived! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge became parents to a daughter early in the morning of 2 May 2015 at the Lindo Wing of the St. Mary's Hospital in London. Kensington Palace issued the following press statement:

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a daughter at 8.34am.

The baby weighs 8lbs 3oz [3714 g].

The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth.

The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news.

Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.

The newborn princess, who is fourth in line of succession to the British throne (afther the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince George of Cambridge), was introduced to the world later on the day when her parents left the hospital to take her home to Kensington Palace.

The princess is the fifth great grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Besides Prince George of Cambridge, Peter Phillips (son of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal) has two daughters - Savannah and Isla - while Peter's sister Zara has the daughter Mia.

The name of the princess is yet to be announced, but not surprisingly speculations have been going on for a while already. Last time around, when Prince George was born, almost everyone guessed the first of three names correctly. Some people had almost made it to a historical law that the prince would get four names, but he "only" got three. So, to be on the safe side, we can expect everythng from two to five names! As last time I would be surprised if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will not decide on a traditional royal name for the newborn girl. I am now first of all thinking about the name being in daily use, the call name. Elizabeth, Victoria, Alice and Charlotte are among the main suggestions, and they are all nice and traditional royal names. The Diana fans can of course not think of any name but Diana, but although Diana is a nice name, it will perhaps be too much to live up to and to be compared to for the little princess. Maybe the name should be saved for another generation, or only as one of the other given names.

Looking at William Addams Reitwiesner's book The Ancestry of Catherine Middleton (2011), we learn that the Duchess of Cambridge's grandparents were named Valerie and Dorothy, while her great-grandmothers had the names Olive Christiana, Constance, Edith Eliza and Elizabeth Mary. The mother of the duchess is named Carole Elizabeth, and the duchess herself Catherine Elizabeth. In other words, it is quite possible to give names that combine the traditions of both the British Royal Family and the Middleton family (and Goldsmith and Lupton etc.). Catherine's sister is named Philippa Charlotte, by the way ... Hopefully the Cambridges will not let us wait for too long for the names to be announced.

Updated: 4 May 2015 at 4.05 p.m. (missing word inserted in second last paragraph).