Surprise, surprise…
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced the news that they were expecting their first baby together last year, with the future arrival’s due date said to be in April.
Now, just weeks away, speculation is rising around every aspect of the royal baby and its parents, from the baby’s gender and selected God parents to when the family will move to their new Frogmore Cottage home and the shade of vegan paint set to decorate the nursery.
This week however, everyone has been talking about the Queen’s role in the royal baby’s arrival, with the monarch said to be the first person to be informed once the baby has been born.
Yes, really. Queen Elizabeth will reportedly receive a call informing her that the baby has arrived and what its gender is, before anyone else is informed, even Meghan’s mum, Doria Ragland.
And the Queen’s power in terms of the royal baby won’t stop there, with it reported this week that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will actually have to change the royal baby name if HRH doesn’t approve.
‘The Queen has the power to say what their title is,’ Royal commentator Kate Williams explained in an interview with CNN. ‘But in the case of names, it is more of an informal conversation.’
She continued: ‘Of course they have such respect for the Queen that if she says “I really don’t like that name,” they’d definitely take that into account.
Judging by the bookies odds by William Hill however, there’s a pretty good bet that she’ll approve, with the most popular predictions honouring royal family members.
Victoria is in the top spot with odds of 8/1, followed by Diana at 10/1 and then Alice and Isabella. And in terms of boys names, top predictions include Arthur, Edward and James.
What will the couple name their newborn? There’s not long to wait and see, but we can all get in line behind the Queen to find out.
