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Britain's new princess named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana

 
Her Royal Highness, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge princess was born to parents Kate Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William on Saturday. [Associated Press]
Her Royal Highness, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge princess was born to parents Kate Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William on Saturday. [Associated Press]
Published May 4, 2015

LONDON — In the week of an election that has failed to make hearts flutter, many in Britain rejoiced on Monday after Kensington Palace announced that Britain's new princess would be named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.

The baby, the second child of Prince William and his wife, the former Kate Middleton — and the fifth great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth — will be known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge.

The name for the princess, the fourth in line to the throne, seemed to reach across several generations, paying apparent tribute to the baby's late grandmother, Princess Diana, and to her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. Charlotte is the feminine form of Charles, so she is also apparently named after her paternal grandfather, Prince Charles, as well as two British kings from Stuart times.

Whether those are the actual reasons for the choice of name, though, the palace isn't commenting. "We'll let the names speak for themselves," the BBC quoted a Kensington Palace official as saying.

As befits a princess whose birth is adding luster and modernity to an age-old institution, an announcement of the name was made on Twitter. But the BBC said that the queen and other senior members of the royal household were told of the name before it was announced publicly.

The name Charlotte was a favorite of bettors, along with Diana and Elizabeth, and the British news media reported that bookmakers could be facing huge payouts on the choice. Alice, Victoria and Olivia were also widely favored by bettors.

The name Charlotte has an august history. It was prominent in the 18th century, and was the name of George III's queen consort. Charlotte, North Carolina, and Charlottesville, Virginia were named for her.

Beyond being an apparent nod to Prince Charles, Charlotte is also the middle name of the baby's aunt Pippa Middleton, her mother's sister.

The middle name Diana will have particular resonance in the country, considering the outpouring of grief and adulation after Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Reacting to the name, Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, wrote on Twitter: "Perfect names. My 2-year old Charlotte Diana will be thrilled at cousinly name-sharing. Is at an age where thinks world revolves around her!"

Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to the princess at 8:34 a.m. on Saturday. The baby's birth, which provided Britons with a diversion from a close and divisive election campaign, was greeted by billboards in Central London proclaiming "It's a Girl!" and "Welcome to the World."

On Monday, the bells at Westminster were sounded to mark the birth, and there were royal gun salutes at Hyde Park and the Tower of London.

The conservative-leaning Daily Telegraph noted that the name Charlotte was French in origin, and that the princess's name could inspire the nicknames Charlie or Lottie. "But we think she'll probably be known as Charlotte most of the time," it said, "especially when she's been naughty."