Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry in a family portrait by Mario Testino.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are both bound by tradition, yet determined to establish a modern monarchy. So through a process of elimination plus other factors, the mostly likely name will be:
His Royal Highness Charles Edward Philip Spencer, the Prince of Cambridge. He would take the last name of Windsor for the House of Windsor, the same as Queen Elizabeth.
The name covers all the bases and pays homage to William’s father, his uncle Prince Edward, his Grandfather Prince Phillip and his mother’s family name, Spencer, which is royal in its own right. Plus it’s as royal sounding as you can get.
The eight-pound, six-ounce boy was born on July 22 and will one day inherit the throne of England. He stands behind Prince Charles, the first-born of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip and his own father, Prince William. Uncle Prince Harry is now fourth in line for the throne.
Prince William’s full name is William Arthur Philip Louis. He’s believed to be named after his grandfather and Louis Mountbatten, to whom Prince Charles was very close. William and Arthur have no particular significance, except the names are steeped in royal history, according to several reports.
Mountbatten, officially Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, First Earl Mountbatten of Burma, was murdered by Irish Republican Nationals in 1979.
William’s mother, Princess Diana, was the fourth child of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and his first wife, the Honorable Frances Roche, daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy.
Diana became Lady Diana Spencer when her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975. The title was created in 1765 for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer, a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough, according to English peerage.
Of course, Kate and William could chose and entirely different course. But that’s our best guess they’ll go with tradition. Tell us yours and follow TheImproper on Twitter for all the latest royal updates.