Queen Elizabeth changed a rule to allow Prince Louis to have his current name (Image: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
is well-known for being one of the cheekiest members of the Royal Family, with the six-year-old making headlines in the past for pulling funny faces or
As the youngest child of , 42, and Princess Kate, 43, Louis is kept a close eye on during big royal events by both his parents and his older siblings Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince George, 11.
While he may not be fully aware at such a young age of the history of the family he is part of, the young prince – who was formally named Louis Arthur Charles at birth – will one day understand more about his, including one of the reasons he is able to keep his name as it is.
, Queen Elizabeth had to step in and overturn a historic rule made by King George V to allow the young prince to have his current full name and title.
A longstanding rule introduced by King George V in 1917 established that only those closest to the top of the line of succession would be automatically granted titles and HRH styles.
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He decided that only the sovereign’s children would automatically become a Prince or Princess, as well as any grandchildren born through the male line.
However, great-grandchildren of the sovereign were not set to be included. The late Queen Elizabeth overturned this rule for all of William and Kate’s children, allowing them to have the titles they have today.
Without the late Queen’s change, Louis would have been instead known by another name during the late Queen’s reign, likely to have been Master Louis Mountbatten-Windsor.
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The children go by very ordinary names at school (Image: Jonathan Brady – Pool/Getty Images)
All three of William and Kate’s children have HRH titles as a result of the rule change.
While not having a surname may be difficult for the children at school, it is believed they resolve this in a very simple way.
The children, who are not referred to by their royal titles and are instead called their first name, – a nod to the fact William and Kate are the Prince and Princess of Wales.
This is also part of William and Kate’s aim to give their behind-closed-doors.