The baby boy destined to become King George VII

 By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter

HRH Prince George of Cambridge, as he will be known, was named after the Queen’s father, George VI, meaning he will one day become King George VII. 

George had been the most heavily backed boy’s name with bookmakers almost from the moment the Duchess announced she was pregnant, and follows a line that began with George I, the first Hanoverian king, in 1660. 

The baby’s middle names also have strong royal connections: the Queen’s middle name is Alexandra, and Louis is one of the Duke of Cambridge’s middle names, after his father’s mentor, Earl Mountbatten, who was murdered by the IRA in 1979. 

The only major surprise in the couple’s choice of names was that they did not include a nod to the Middleton family; many had expected the baby’s names to include that of the Duchess’s father, Michael, her brother, James, or grandfather, Peter, but none of the Prince’s three names has an obvious Middleton connection. 

A royal aide said that the names were very much the “couple’s own choice”, with no influence from other family members. The Duke of Cambridge had said the couple were still “working on” names when they left St Mary’s Hospital with their son on Tuesday, and sources said they wanted to “wait until they had seen the baby” before deciding if their choice was a good fit. 

The Queen, who met her great-grandson for the first time today when she made a half-hour visit to Kensington Palace, was one of the first to be told the choice of name, which originally meant “farmer” or “earth-worker”. 

The historian and royal biographer Robert Lacey said the name was “obviously a tribute to the Queen’s father and will, I imagine, give Her Majesty great pleasure”. 

In choosing a name borne by six previous kings, as well as England’s patron saint, the couple effectively future-proofed their son against fads and trends that can blight more unusual choices. 

After meeting the Queen, Prince George’s busy start in life continued when he and his parents left Kensington Palace at lunchtime and drove to Bucklebury, Berks, to stay with the Duchess’s parents. 

The Middleton family’s Georgian manor house was surrounded by an unprecedented security cordon for the baby’s arrival. As well as the usual armed police patrols and personal bodyguards, a police helicopter hovered overhead and officers on horseback rode around the perimeter of the 18-acre property. 

Their presence is likely to be aimed as much at deterring enterprising paparazzi, keen to sell pictures of mother and baby to foreign magazines, as potential terrorist threats. 

The local council put up notices banning cars from stopping in the country lane outside the house for the next three weeks, which suggests that the Duchess is intending a lengthy stay with her parents. Royal aides have said she has no current plans to hire a nanny, and is likely to lean heavily on her mother for support as she familiarises herself with the demands of motherhood. 

The Duke of Cambridge will go back to work with his RAF squadron after two weeks’ statutory paternity leave, and the Duchess clearly plans to remain under her mother’s roof once her husband returns to RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales. 

The couple may also try to fit in a visit to Balmoral over the summer so that the Royal family can spend more time with the Prince. It would also enable the Duke of Edinburgh, who is convalescing after his abdominal surgery last month, to meet his great-grandson for the first time. 

Kensington Palace made the announcement of the baby’s name just after 6.15pm, in a statement saying: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son George Alexander Louis.” 

Their delight may not be shared by bookmakers, who are expected to pay out about £750,000. /Telegraph