Duchess Meghan & Prince Harry Will Most Likely Not Name The Royal Baby For This Queen

Meghan Markle is now in her final trimester and she and Prince Harry have likely narrowed down the list of names to their top choices, which means that the bookies are starting to take bets on the likelihood that a particular name will be chosen for the newest royal baby.

Express says that betting on things like the name and gender of royal babies is a very popular past time in the U.K. and the odds are in on the top names for the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Meghan Markle is due in late April or early May, and though it’s not clear whether they know if the baby is a boy or a girl, the top pick for the betting houses will be a name which honors Queen Victoria.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes says that “punters clearly think Meghan will give birth to a girl later this year, with Victoria and Diana heading the betting at this stage.”

The name Victoria is 8 to 1 while Diana is a close second at 10 to 1.

The next name down on the list is a boy’s name, Albert, which interestingly enough was the name of Queen Victoria’s husband.

Here is everything we know so far about baby Sussex-to-be. https://t.co/0tZx6K1vyS

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The next name on the list is Alice, which was the name of Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, which comes in at 12 to 1. Tied with Alice is Philip (which would honor Prince Harry’s grandfather, who is currently 97 years old.)

The next names down on the list all come in at 16 to 1, and they include Arthur, Elizabeth, James, and Mary. Arthur was the name of a Tudor prince as well as a son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Elizabeth is obviously the name of the current queen and Prince Harry’s grandmother (as well as the Tudor Queen), and James is the name of the Stuart Kings of Scotland and England. Queen Mary was the name of Queen Elizabeth’s grandmother, with whom she was very close.

Vogue says that it’s possible that Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry might opt not to give their offspring a royal title in an effort to give him or her a more normal childhood. Princess Anne’s children, Peter and Zara Phillips don’t have royal titles, and so there is a precedent.

The Duke & Duchess of Sussex have decided that they want to raise their child in Windsor rather than in London, making their home at Frogmore Cottage on the grounds of Windsor Castle where the two tied the knot last May.