AFTER the Duchess of Cambridge made her famous slip, saying "my daugh....", speculation has been rife about the name for the new royal baby if it is a girl.
The current favourite is Alexandra because great royal favourite Princess Alexandra (the Queen's cousin) is the Duke of Cambridge's godmother.
I would be very surprised if the name Elizabeth didn't feature, as royal babies tend to have multiple names. The Queen has three and Charles and William have four each.
As for the name Diana? It's probably not likely as a first name but could feature in the list – William did, of course, present his bride with the late Princess's engagement ring.
He also organised a thanksgiving service and concert in 2007 to mark the 10th anniversary of her death, and he and Prince Harry have taken on some of their mother's patronages.
It could, of course, be a complete surprise.
Who would have guessed that Princess Anne would have named her daughter Zara?
Or that Peter and Autumn Phillips would name their daughters Savannah and Isla?
I'm afraid we'll have to wait a little longer to find out.
What is much clearer is that, although the baby will only be third in line to the throne when born, he or she will be a future king or queen.
In 2011, the Commonwealth Prime Ministers agreed in principle that a first-born royal child would automatically accede to the throne, irrespective of gender. Having been through Parliament, this is now law.
Previously, without this new Succession To The Crown Act, if the Cambridges' child had been a daughter, she could be displaced if she had a younger brother.
Although much has been written about this, it is something which would probably have been addressed before if the circumstances had required it.
Although the Princess Royal has two younger brothers ahead of her in the line of succession, the fact that she had an elder brother made the question largely irrelevant.
The changes will only be made retrospectively to those born after October 2011 – meaning no change in the order of succession for the PrincessRoyal or for her niece, Lady Louise Windsor.
James Taylor, a royal-watcher from Shirebrook, speculates on what a future monarch might be called
Giving the game away? The Duchess of Cambridge made her famous slip, saying "my daugh....", during a walkabout.
