Special meaning behind Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Louis' names
Things would've been very different had the Queen not intervenedPrince William and Kate Middleton’s children are in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple have three kids together, Prince George and Louis, and Princess Charlotte – but did you know their full names and titles have special meanings?
They have key royal roles ahead of them when they grow up if they choose to follow in their father’s footsteps.
In keeping with royal tradition, all of their children have three names – one first and two middle names.
After Kate and William tied the knot in 2011, they welcomed George in 2013, Charlotte in 2015 and Louis in 2018 – we take a look at their full names, titles, and meanings behind the Prince and Princess’ monikers.
Prince George’s full name and title
Born on July 22, 2013, his full name and title is His Royal Highness Prince George Alexander Louis of Wales. George is the first child of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and they welcomed their eldest when they were known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Each aspect of his name is a reference to members of the royal family who have come before him.
George is a direct tribute to the Queen’s father, King George VI – and the young prince will one day be the nation’s seventh King George when he takes the throne, if he chooses to use the moniker.
His first middle name is the masculine version of great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s middle name, Alexandra.
Louis is also one of Prince William‘s middle names, likely to be a reference to Prince Philip’s uncle, the late Lord Louis Mountbatten. He was killed in 1979 when a bomb planted by the IRA exploded on his boat.
A look at the actual meaning of the name George also throws up an interesting definition.
As well as references to medieval legend St George, who defeated the dragon, the name actually originates from the Greek for farmer or earth worker.
However, at school, George’s friends simply know him as George Wales.
Prince George’s full name was ‘nearly something different’
While we couldn’t imagine Prince George having any other name, his full moniker was almost completely different, according to a royal expert.
Katie Nicholls revealed the Princess of Wales originally wanted her first son to be named Alexander, something she had her “heart set on”.
Prior to his birth, Kate and William didn’t want to know the baby’s gender so had a list of boy and girls names picked out.
She explained: “Courtiers insisted the pair had not found out the sex of their unborn baby, and friends close to the couple claim William wanted a surprise. Although Kate apparently suspected it was a boy and had set her heart on the name Alexander, they had not yet decided what to call their firstborn.”
It seems they decided on George, but kept her beloved name in the Prince’s full name.
Princess Charlotte’s full name and title
The Wales’ only daughter’s full name and title is Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Wales. She made her entrance on May 2, 2015.
It’s thought her first name was chosen to honour two members of her family.
Her aunt Pippa Middleton has Charlotte as a middle name, and it’s also the feminine version of her grandfather King Charles’ first name.
Elizabeth is an obvious reference to her late great-grandmother, the Queen, while Diana is a tribute to her late grandmother, Princess Diana.
Looking into the origins of the name Charlotte, it gained popularity in the 18th century, as England’s Queen Charlotte came to the throne.
As previously reported, it’s also a feminine form of the name Charles, which means free man.
And, just like her brother, Charlotte goes by the much simpler name of Charlotte Wales at school.
William and Kate call Princess Charlotte adorable nicknames over her full name
Her dad Prince William revealed the sweet nickname he called Princess Charlotte, over her full name.
During the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019, the future king was heard referring to his daughter as mignonette when she was playing. The adorable moment was caught in BBC footage of their trip to the garden which Kate designed. The term of endearment means ‘cute’, ‘cutie’ or ‘little darling’ in French.
Mother Kate was also overheard calling her by ‘Lottie’, by a royal fan.
When she met the couple in Northern Ireland the same year, she said the Princess of Wales called her daughter ‘Lottie’.
The fan explained: “So then she [Kate Middleton] asked how old Bertie is, and I said he is four and she said ‘oh he’s the same age as Lottie’ – she calls her [Charlotte] Lottie!”
Prince Louis full name and title
Kate and Will welcomed their third child in 2018. His full name and title is His Royal Highness Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Wales.
Like his big brother and father, his first name is an obvious tribute to Lord Mountbatten.
Arthur was the middle name of King George VI, so it’s thought that is why William and Kate selected that for their son’s first middle name.
Charles also pays tribute to his grandfather, King Charles.
The name Louis actually has its origins in France and Germany. In fact, Louis is the French form of Ludwig, which means famous warrior.
Princess Charlotte and Prince George’s cute nickname for brother Louis
Royal author Robert Jobson wrote in his book, Catherine, the Princess of Wales: The Biography, that Prince Louis’ siblings also prefer to use a nickname over his full name.
He said that they quickly began calling their younger brother Lou Lou after he was born.
Robson wrote: “Catherine gave birth to her third child, a son they named Louis, on 23 April 2018, again at the private Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.
“Before introducing him to the world, William had brought the baby’s older siblings, George and Charlotte, to meet him. They affectionately called him ‘Lou Lou’.”
The late Queen intervened in Prince William and Kate Middleton’s names for their children
If the former monarch hadn’t have stepped in before the birth of the three children, their names would’ve been very different.
She intervened to overwrite a rule put in place by King George V in 1917. He ruled on which royals were allowed to have titles and who was too far down the line of succession to have one.
King George V decided that all of the sovereign’s children would automatically become a prince or princess, as well as any grandchildren born through the male line.
But great-grandchildren weren’t included on the list – until the Queen stepped in ahead of Prince George’s birth. She declared that he would get a title, and so would the rest of William and Kate’s future children.
In the case of Louis, it’s likely he would’ve been called Master Louis Cambridge or Master Louis Windsor had the royal ruling not been amended.
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