Prince George’s name could’ve been something different which Princess Kate had her heart set on. (Image: Getty)
is second in line to the throne and is the eldest child of , and Catherine, Princess of Wales.
Upon his birth on July 22, 2013, he was called George Alexander Louis and is formally known as Prince George of Wales.
Each of his names has a special nod to a member of the British royal family.
Yet despite honouring many other royals, George’s name was set to be something completely different.
Princess Kate reportedly had her heart set on a particular name but was changed at the last minute.
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Prince George is second in line to the throne and is the eldest child of William and Kate. (Image: Getty)
name serves as a nod to several members of the royal family including his first name honouring King George VI – the late Queen Elizabeth’s father.
George is also King Charles’s middle name with the name being the same as Prince Williams’s cousin on Princess Diana’s side of the family.
Other esteemed George’s include Prince George William of Hanover, George I of Greece and Prince George of Denmark.
Louis is in honour of Louis Mountbatten – the uncle of who was tragically killed by the IRA on his yacht and is also one of ’s middle names.
Katie Nicholl, a royal expert, claimed that Princess Kate had preferred the name Alexander and according to Nicholl had her ‘heart set on’ that instead.
Alexandra was first middle name.
Nicholl said: “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.”
For unknown reasons, William and Kate changed their mind and chose the name George instead.
“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,” explained Nicholl.
Despite the pair changing George’s name, they were adamant about not knowing what the sex of the baby was.
A friend of the royal couple had previously said: “When I saw a few weeks before the birth he said they didn’t know [the baby’s sex] and didn’t want to find out. “He said there are so few surprises in life – this was one he wanted to keep. Kate said she thought it was a boy because the baby kicked so much.”
It was also reported that William and Kate’s previous dog, Lupo, was also the decider on George’s name.
The couple had written down possible baby names on pieces of paper with Lupo choosing his favourite by picking up which paper he was drawn to, according to .
Alongside full name, he also has an endearing nickname after one of his friends abbreviated his name to PG, William and Kate took it further by simply dubbing him Tips, another nod but this time to the British brand of tea bags.