New royal baby name finally revealed
At the beginning of this week, Kensington Palace announced that William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, had welcomed their third child into the world. The new baby, a little boy, is the newest addition to the Royal Family and - despite only being a few days old now - he's already fifth in line to the throne.
The arrival of the new prince had been hotly anticipated for the months leading up to the birth, with some loyal supporters of the family having waited outside the hospital for more than two weeks (!) before he was due.
But, even for those of us who weren't super invested in what the little one looked like, or how much he weighed, or how many billions of pounds he was already worth, there was one thing that people around the world were itching to find out: his name.
Punters had been betting on the baby's name for a while, with the front runners being Albert at 1/3 and Arthur at 11/4. Other choices in the running were James, Philip, and Alexander.
John Hill with the Bookmakers Coral said that "It has been all one-way traffic for Albert in the betting in the last 24 hours and as a result that is now the odds-on favorite ahead of the early front-runners Arthur and Alexander," leading many to believe that the little one would be known as Prince Bertie.
However, the third-time royal parents threw us all a curveball by not going with any of the popular choices, instead opting for something slightly unconventional.
At just after 11 am today, Kensington Palace announced:
"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles. The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge."
The name is believed to be in honor of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, who was said to be a great mentor to both Prince Philip and Prince Charles. Indeed, the Prince of Wales has previously remarked that he considered Mountbatten to have been his "honorary grandfather".
After the birth of their third grandchild, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall - Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla - made a statement expressing their happiness.
"We are both so pleased at the news," they said. "It is a great joy to have another grandchild, the only trouble is I don't know how I am going to keep up with them."
This news comes just after another royal revelation that Prince William will serve as his brother's best man next month. Prince Harry is due to marry actress Meghan Markle in Windsor on May 19th.
In a statement, Kensington Palace said: "The Duke of Cambridge is honoured to have been asked, and is very much looking forward to supporting his brother."
It's expected that millions of people around the world will tune in to watch the ceremony next month - especially as it'll be a great opportunity to see the new royal baby!