Symbolic meanings behind Kate Middleton and Prince William's children's names revealed

Royal baby names are rich with tradition and history, particularly for Princess Kate and Prince William's three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis

Names are never just names in the Royal Family. Whenever a new royal baby is welcomed into the House of Windsor, royal fans eagerly await their first glimpse of them, and to learn what moniker has been selected for the newborn - which often comes along with several more middle names than are usually bestowed on children.

Royal names are often rich with history and when selecting their children's names, the royals regularly choose to pay tribute to their predecessors, with the late Queen Elizabeth II's name bestowed on three of her granddaughters as a middle name - Zara Tindall, Princess Beatrice, and Lady Louise Windsor.

Elizabeth is in itself, a historic name, with Elizabeth I widely seen as one of the nation's greatest monarchs, as was the ever-popular late Queen, and it was also the name of the Queen Mother, so it's no wonder that so many of the Windsor's have decided to pass it on to the next generation.

Generally speaking, the royals higher up the line of succession will stick more tightly to traditional names when selecting one of their child, and those whose children are unlikely to become working royals seem to have more flexibility when it comes to choosing a baby name - like Beatrice's daughter Sienna, or Prince Harry naming his daughter Lilibet - which whilst is still a nod to the late Queen, uses her private family nickname to pay tribute to the former monarch instead.

When it came to naming their children, Prince William and Princess Kate therefore went the more traditional route, given that Prince George, 11, will one day be likely to take the throne, and his siblings - Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six - may well represent the crown in some official capacity when they are older.

Prince George's full name is George Alexander Louis, and his first name is perfectly suited to a future monarch and if he chooses to use it as his regal name - his official name as King. When the time comes, that will make him the seventh King George to take the throne. The last King George was the late Queen Elizabeth's father - the monarch about whom the film The King's Speech was about.

King George VI was never intended to be King and only took the throne when his elder brother King Edward VIII abdicated to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. George VI saw the country through the Second World War before passing away from illness aged only 56 in 1952. According to Baby Centre, the name George is of Greek origin, and means "farmer" or "earthworker" and per the Office of National Statistics, in 2021, it ranked third in the most popular baby names for boys.

Princess Charlotte's full name is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, nodding to both her late grandmother, Princess Diana, and her great-grandmother, the late Queen. Charlotte has been a popular name for girls in the UK for a long time and is also rich with royal history. Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, was the longest-ever ruling Queen Consort of Great Britain from 1761 until her death in 1818 - during her marriage to George III.

Charlotte is also the feminine version of Charles, so the choice from William and Kate was also a nod to the youngster's grandfather, King Charles, and means "petite" or "free".

Prince Louis Arthur Charles was born in April 2018, and all three of the names selected for him by his parents have royal connections. Louis was the name of the Earl of Mountbatten - the youngster's great-uncle - to whom both Charles and Prince Philip were very close. Arthur is another historic royal name and one of William's middle names, and Charles is, of course, a nod to the King.

Louis means "famous warrior" and is the French version of the German name Ludwig, per Baby Centre.

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