There’s a tradition Kate and Prince William upheld when Prince Louis was born that they didn’t when they welcomed Prince George.
The births of all three of the Prince and Princess of Wales’s children were met with excitement from fans around the world from the moment Kensington Palace announced the happy news. The first pictures of the proud parents standing outside St Mary’s Hospital with their newborns are so iconic and there was huge speculation all three times over what the couple would name their children. Reports have suggested over the years that Kate "set her heart" on Alexander for a baby boy, though Prince George was later given the full name George Alexander Louis.
However, when Prince Louis was born in 2018, Kate and Prince William upheld a special family naming tradition that they didn’t with their firstborn. Even though Prince George is second in the royal line of succession, it was his younger brother who received the middle name of several Kings.
After several days of private family time with their newborn, the Prince and Princess of Wales confirmed that his full name was Louis Arthur Charles. The choice of Arthur had been a popular contender with bookmakers before he was born and it’s Prince William’s first middle name and King Charles’s second.
Arthur was also the middle name of Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, making it a popular middle name choice for monarchs. Because of this, it could be seen as intriguing that Prince William and Kate chose to uphold the tradition of using Arthur as a middle name for Louis, rather than for Prince George, who is destined to follow in King George, King Charles and Prince William’s footsteps as King.
The name Arthur immediately conjures up the image of the legendary King Arthur and it was reportedly one of His Majesty’s favourite baby names.
As reported by The Sun, in Andrew Morton’s book, Diana: Her True Story, he alleged that Princess Diana supposedly told him she picked out William and Harry as her sons’ first names, before claiming that King Charles had "wanted Albert and Arthur" as names. Arthur ended up as one of Prince William’s middle names, with Albert as one of Prince Harry’s.
Although Prince George won’t be another monarch with the middle name Arthur, his and Louis’s names are themselves connected. Prince George has Louis as a middle name and it’s another family favourite as Prince William also has it as a middle name. Prince Louis is also believed to have a cute nickname as Kate was reportedly heard referring to him as "Lou Bugs" during a day of volunteering over the coronation weekend.
The young royal has entertained fans with his cheeky personality over the years and former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond previously told OK! that she believes the Prince and Princess of Wales are doing all they can so that he and Charlotte feel "as special" as their brother.
Jennie said, "William and Kate must be acutely aware of the problems for a royal spare. They have already shown that they have a different and modern attitude to bringing up royal children and I’m sure they will do everything to make Charlotte and Louis feel every bit as special, loved and valued as George."
"I imagine they will encourage Louis to explore life outside the royal fold… it could be the military, but it could also be working in the charity world or whatever he finds appealing after his education is finished," she added.
