Duchess Kate, Prince William To Name Royal Baby — Ringo? Betting Odds And Predictions Released
As Duchess Kate Middleton approaches her delivery date for the second royal baby, bettors are furiously placing wagers on what the Duchess and Prince William will name the newest member of the British Royal Family. And if your guess is “Ringo,” well, you could win a lot of money — if you’re right.
Of course, the chances that Kate and William will choose to name their next royal baby “Ringo” are pretty remote, especially considering that the world’s most famous Ringo isn’t even really named Ringo.
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, as all good Beatlemaniacs know, is actually named Richard Starkey. So even the 500-1 odds offered by some legal British bookies that the royal baby will bear that name seem rather short.
The name “Caledonia,” for a girl, also stands at 500-1 at some betting shops.
More realistically, the name “Alice” now holds the favorite position at the online Betfair Sportsbook, with 3-1 odds. The odds on “Alice” had been 8-1 until about 24 hours ago, when a sudden influx of wagers came in on that name, one that that has not been in the royal line, at least not a first name, since 1843 when Queen Victoria — great-great-grandmother of Britain’s current Queen Elizabeth — named her second daughter Princess Alice.
A rival betting shop, Ladbrokes, has “Alice” installed as a co-favorite, at 5-1 odds, the same as “Elizabeth.” So it seems that British bettors expect the next royal baby to be named after her own great grandmother.
And according to the overwhelming majority of bettors — 80 percent, bookmakers report — Kate Middleton will indeed give birth to a baby girl.
At Ladbrokes, the name “Charlotte” is the next-most preferred, with 6-1 odds, followed by “Alexandra” at 8-1. “James” for a boy also stands at 8-1.
The odds mean that if a bettor places a wager of £1 on, for example, “Elizabeth” at 5-1, and the baby is indeed named Elizabeth, the bettor wins £5 on top of the original £1 bet.
But bookmakers in Britain are not only taking action on the royal baby’s name, but on numerous other baby-related propositions. The day of the week that Kate Middleton gives birth brings 5-1 odds on Monday through Friday, but 6-1 odds on a weekend day.
The actual date that Duchess Kate delivers is also up for betting, with dates from April 6 to May 3 available. The favorite in that contest? Monday, April 20, at 10-1 odds. The longshots are April 6, 7 and 8, which all carry 50-1 odds as the day Kate Middleton gives birth to royal baby Number Two.
[Images: Pool Photo/Getty Images, Wikimedia Commons]
