Prince William (Duke of Cambridge) and his wife Kate Middleton (Duchess of Cambridge), announced on Monday the name they picked for their newborn daughter. The name is seen as a tribute to both Prince William’s parents and grandmother, the queen, as well as a link to the Middleton family. According to royal officials, the second child of William and Kate, will be known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. The names that William and Kate chose are firmly rooted in royal family history. Charlotte (the feminine form of Charles) is a nod to the newborn’s grandfather, Prince Charles. Her middle names honor Queen Elizabeth II, the infant’s 89-year-old great-grandmother, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales (William’s mother and the baby’s grandmother). Charlotte is also the middle name of Kate’s younger sister, Pippa Middleton. Charlotte is fourth in line to the throne after Charles, William and her older brother, 21-month-old Prince George. The baby princess was introduced to the world Saturday evening, twelve hours after Kate checked into St. Mary’s Hospital in London to give birth. She weighed at 8 pounds, 3 ounces. Charlotte will be formally christened in the coming weeks, potentially in the same chapel at St. James’s Palace, like her brother George. The godparents will likely be announced on the morning of the christening. William and Kate are currently staying at London’s Kensington Palace for the time being, but in the coming days are expected to return to their country home near the queen’s Sandringham estate, 120 miles north of London.
