Prince Louis Arthur Charles: the story behind the royal baby name

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s newborn son will be named Louis Arthur Charles, Kensington Palace announced today.

The choice may have outfoxed the bookies, who had been favouring Arthur, Alexander, Albert or Philip, but the new Prince’s name is steeped in royal history.

The name - also one of Prince William and Prince George’s middle names - has a strong emotional resonance with the Royal Family through Louis Mountbatten, uncle of Prince Philip and a cousin of the Queen.

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TV fans may recall Mountbatten, played by Greg Wise, acting as a close confidant to both Philip and the young Prince Charles in the Netflix series The Crown.

Mountbatten was assassinated by the IRA in 1979, killed by a bomb planted in his boat while on a fishing holiday in Ireland.

Visiting the site of the attack for the first time in 2015, the Prince of Wales said of his mentor’s death: “I could not imagine how we would come to terms with the anguish of such a deep loss since, for me, Lord Mountbatten represented the grandfather I never had.”

The newborn Prince’s middle name, Arthur - also one of the Duke of Cambridge’s own middle names - not only pays tribute to the great king of ancient legend but also has a hidden Windsor family connection.

“Arthur is the name Prince Charles is said to have wanted for his second son, Harry,” says The Sun, but Princess Diana reportedly thought it was “too old”.

Prince Louis’ second middle name, Charles, is clearly a tribute to the baby’s grandfather, the Prince of Wales.

Kensington Palace have said that the young royal will go by the title Prince Louis of Cambridge.