Royal couple keeps world waiting for new born baby’s name
KABUL: (MEP) – Prince William and his wife Kate kept the world guessing about the name of Britain’s new prince after presenting their newborn son to the world for the first time Tuesday, Fox News reported.
“We’re still working on a name. So we’ll have that as soon as we can,” William told scores of reporters as he cradled the child outside St. Mary’s Hospital, where he was born not quite 24 hours earlier.
The royal couple may well take their time in deciding. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh took a month before settling on the name Charles for the Prince of Wales. Princess Diana and Prince Charles took a week before settling on William’s four names.
“Who knows what the future will hold,” said Timothy Long, a curator at the Museum of London, which is celebrating the royal birth with a special exhibition showcasing royal baby items. “But I’m sure with that comes a little bit of pressure.”
The bookies are hoping for everyone to take their time. The bets just keep rolling on in while everyone ponders the future.
“We’re taking in money by the pramload,” said Rory Scott, a spokesman for Paddy Power, a bookmaker. It’s also taking wagers on the royal baby’s first word and where he will be christened.
The baby waved his hands a little but otherwise appeared quiet during his first, and very noisy, encounter with the press Tuesday.
The infant is third in line to become monarch one day, after his grandfather, Prince Charles, and William.
“He’s got her looks, thankfully,” William said, referring to his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, as the newborn prince squirmed in his arms and poked a tiny hand out of his swaddling blanket, almost like a little royal wave.
“He’s got a good pair of lungs on him, that’s for sure,” William added with a grin. “He’s a big boy. He’s quite heavy.”
The couple re-entered the hospital to place the child in a car seat before re-emerging to get into a black Range Rover. With William at the wheel, they drove away. Palace officials said they will head to an apartment in Kensington Palace and spend the night there.
The birth marks a new chapter for William and Kate, who had enjoyed a quiet life away from the public eye in Anglesey, Wales, since their wedding in April 2011.
The couple had been living in a small Welsh cottage while William — known as Flight Lieutenant Wales — completed his term as a search-and-rescue pilot.
Now that they are a family, they are moving to a much larger apartment in Kensington Palace in central London, where William spent most of his childhood and where it will be much more difficult to keep a low profile and avoid the press.
Earlier Tuesday, William’s father, Charles, and his wife, Camilla, as well as Michael and Carole Middleton — Kate’s parents — visited the young family at the hospital.
Charles called the baby “marvelous,” while a beaming Carole Middleton described the infant as “absolutely beautiful.”
It was not immediately clear when Queen Elizabeth II would meet the newborn heir. The queen was hosting a reception at Buckingham Palace Tuesday evening, and was due to leave for an annual holiday in Scotland in the coming days.
