A royal baby is on the way! And the expected names are already rolling in.
Bookies are already offering odds on what Princess Kate and Prince William will name their third child — and Alice has come out on top, so far. British bookmakers Ladbrokes and William Hill cite the sweet name at the top of their lists.
Elizabeth and James are runner-ups on William Hill while Arthur and Victoria snagged the second spot on Ladbrokes.
Kensington Palace confirmed on Monday that the royals, both 35, are expecting baby number three. They are already parents to Prince George, 4, and 2-year-old Princess Charlotte.
“The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news,” a statement from Kensington Palace, released Monday morning, said.
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Now, less than a day into the headline-making news, Jessica Bridge of Ladbrokes said that “the early money” suggests people would like to see the royal couple welcome a little girl named Alice.
“It should come as no surprise to see fairly normal yet regal names top the betting,” Bridge said. “Royal watchers have been convinced over the last few weeks that an announcement was coming, and we’re paying out with a smile that their hunch was bang on the money.”
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Kate, 34, canceled a planned appearance on Monday due to acute morning sickness, also known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum. She suffered the condition during her first two pregnancies.
The baby news comes during an exciting week for the family. On Thursday, Kate and William, 35, are set to take little George to school for his first day at Thomas’s Battersea.
The arrival of Will and Kate’s third child could be historic: If the baby is a boy, he will not displace big sister Charlotte in the line of succession, thanks to a measure that passed just after Will and Kate’s 2011 wedding. Up until this change, a younger son would usurp his older sister’s place when it comes to inheriting the throne.