New royal baby born: what will Kate and William’s son be called?

The Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a boy, a little brother for Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

The new royal baby was born at 11.01am weighing 8lbs 7oz.

He is fifth in line to the throne and is Queen Elizabeth’s sixth great-grandchild.

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Catherine and her new son are “both doing well” and both families are “delighted with the news”, according to a statement from Kensington Palace.

The Duchess was admitted to the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, shortly before 6am, with Prince William by her side.

Here’s what we know so far:

Where was the baby born?

Kate Middleton returned to the Lindo Wing, the private maternity ward at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, where she had Prince George, now four, and Princess Charlotte, now two. Prince William and Prince Harry were also born there.

The maternity ward promises “world-class care”, with private en-suite rooms and state-of-the-art facilities.

One woman who gave birth there last year told Hello! Magazine that “an afternoon tea to celebrate the baby's birth, a post-delivery massage and glasses of bubbly are all part of the service”.

Prices for a standard room package start at £5,900 for the first 24 hours of a “normal” delivery, although mothers who have previously had a baby at the Lindo Wing, like Catherine, may be eligible for a 10% reduction.

Guy Thorpe-Beeston, surgeon gynaecologist to the Royal Household, and Alan Farthing, a consultant gynaecological surgeon, were present at the latest royal birth.

What will the royal baby be called?

Kate and William’s first two children were given traditional royal names, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana and George Alexander Louis, so it seems likely that they will take a similar approach with their third child. Current favourites among the bookmakers for a boy are Arthur, Albert, Philip, James and Henry.

Where will the royal baby be in line to the throne?

The new baby will be fifth in line to the throne. Prince Charles is currently at the front, followed by Prince William, Prince George and then Princess Charlotte. Prince Harry will be pushed down to sixth in line. Following changes to succession laws in 2011, which give sons and daughters of any future UK monarch an equal right to the throne, Princess Charlotte will remain fourth in line to the throne, despite having a baby brother.

Who will be the godparents of the royal baby?

There are a number of possible contenders for the new baby’s godparents “include one of the van Custem brothers – who are old family friends of Prince William”, says The Evening Standard.

However William van Cutsem is one of George’s godparents, “so the couple may ask one of his siblings - Hugh, Edward or Nicholas - or perhaps Hugh's wife Rose van Cutsem”, the paper adds.

Prince George has seven godparents that include Julia Samuel, a close friend of William’s mother Diana as well as the couple's former private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton and William's cousin Zara Tindall.

Meanwhile, no members of the royal family made it onto the list of Princess Charlotte’s godparents, with Kate and William instead opting for a member of Diana’s family instead.

Charlotte's five also included Kate's school friend Sophie Carter and Laura and Lady Jane Fellowes, William’s two cousins on his mother’s side.

There has been much speculation over whether Meghan Markle or Prince Harry will get the role.

But the Daily Express's well-placed royal expert James Brookes regards that as unlikely.

“I don’t think Meghan will feature this time around – not least because the Cambridges haven’t given Harry the role either,” he said.

“So it would a bit odd bypassing him for Meghan especially as, in the grand scheme of things, the couple haven’t known her for as long.”

Brookes added: “The thinking of many royal watchers is that as an uncle, and living at Kensington Palace, Harry would get to see George and Charlotte rather a lot anyway so perhaps William and Kate thought it best to give the godparent title to someone else.”