When Prince William and Princess Kate welcomed their second child and first daughter Princess Charlotte in May 2015, speculation was rife about what the baby girl would be called.
Traditionally the Royal Family do not announce the names of new-born babies immediately after the birth, however within two days it was revealed that she would be called Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.
The three names each pay tribute to a different member of the Royal Family, and with the blessing of the late Queen Elizabeth a statement was released.
It read: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their daughter Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. The baby will be known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge.”
Her middle names were chosen in honour of her great-grandmother the late Queen and her late grandmother Princess Diana, who passed away 18 years before Charlotte was born.
The name Charlotte also has an impressive royal link, as it is the feminine version of Charles suggesting Charlotte’s grandfather, now King Charles, was also honoured in her naming.
It has been a royal name for centuries, famously the wife of George III (and star of the Bridgerton spin-off series) was also Queen Charlotte.
The name could again be a nod to the Middleton family, as it is Kate’s sister Pippa’s middle name too, while Kate’s middle name interestingly is Elizabeth.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also paid tribute to two of the most important women in Harry’s life with their choice of names for their own daughter.
Princess Lilibet Diana was born on June 4, 2021 in California, named in honour of her great-grandmother as the couple chose the Queen’s family nickname Lilibet to be their daughter’s first name.
Diana was also of course chosen after Harry and William’s mother, who gave birth to her sons in the same hospital that Princess Charlotte was born in.
