We can’t imagine him as anyone but Prince George now, but the Princess of Wales originally had her heart set on a different name for her eldest child and heir to the British throne. The Mirror reports that, after finding out they were expecting their first child together in late 2012, Prince William and Kate decided to keep the gender a surprise, and that they had a rather unusual (but absolutely adorable) method of settling on George.
“Courtiers insisted the pair had not found out the sex of their unborn baby, and friends close to the couple claim William wanted a surprise,” royal expert Katie Nicholl told the outlet. “Although Kate apparently suspected it was a boy and had set her heart on the name Alexander, they had not yet decided what to call their firstborn.” (Though Alexander ultimately didn’t make the cut as the first name, it still appears in George’s name—but more on that in a second.)
