Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, welcomed their third child earlier this week — but that hasn’t put an end to the royal waiting game.
Now the world is holding out for what the baby boy will be named.
The young prince was born Monday, weighing in at a robust 8 pounds and 7 ounces. By Thursday morning, however, his parents had yet to disclose a name for the child.
While not unusual to hold off before revealing their baby’s moniker, the waiting game has played out a little longer than usual compared to William and Kate’s first two children. Only two days passed before they announced the names of their firstborn, George Alexander Louis, now 4, and their second child, daughter Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, who turns 3 on May 2.
Two days, however, is a blink of an eye compared to previous generations of royals.
William’s own parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, took a full week to announce their first son’s name. They announced the name of their second child, Harry, much sooner: Palace officials confirmed it the day he left the hospital.
And Queen Elizabeth waited a full month before she announced the name of Charles, her firstborn child and William’s father.
Wednesday would have been the two-day mark for the newborn prince, but royals expert Victoria Arbiter said that William and Kate may have been sensitive to the fact it also was ANZAC Day, a day of reflection of the first major military battle by Australian and New Zealand forces during World War I.
Arbiter also suggested that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge may be waiting for Prince Charles, William's father, to return home from an official work trip in France before revealing their baby's name.
"Perhaps it’s a show of respect to Charles. They just may be waiting for him to have a personal and private interaction with his newest grandson before releasing the name," Arbiter said.
"With the royals, there's so little in their lives that’s private, and everybody whose had a baby really relishes those first few days at home where they get to be their own little family without sharing it with everyone else," she added. "When you are part of the royal family, you're not just sharing it with extended family, you're sharing it with the whole world."
The queen also is usually notified about the official name before it is revealed officially. No word yet on whether that has been done.
So the guessing game continues in the meantime.
Royal babies tend to be named after their ancestors. Prior to the arrival of the newborn prince, bookmakers had placed the odds on the new baby being named Arthur or James. Other contenders were Albert, Philip and Alexander.