Baby name to be revealed this week

Harr y and Meghan have not yet announced a name for their baby, but admitted his late arrival had given them “a little bit of time” to consider it and hinted that a decision would be made public in two days time.

When he emerged from F r o g m o r e C o t t a g e t o f a c e t h e p r e s s , t h e d u ke said: “Still thinking about names. The baby is a little bit overdue so we’ve had a little bit of time to think about it.”

According to the bookm a k e r s , A r t h u r, P h i l i p , A l b e r t , A l e x a n d e r a n d J a m e s a r e a m o n g t h e favourites with punters. Had the baby been a girl, Ivy, Diana and Grace were the bookies’ top picks. Charles, the name of Prince Harry’s father and the heir apparent to the throne, had 16/1 odds as betting closed yesterday morning, according to Ladbrokes.

However, often keen to break with tradition, Harry and LAb o r n M e g h a n c o u l d m o ve away f r o m t h e t r a d i t i o n a l names usually selected by royals and take inspiration from American traditions, or perhaps could follow the celebrity trend of picking an unusual first name.

Royal exp er ts b elieve that the baby’s title is expected to be Earl of Dumbarton – as the son of a duke, he is entitled to use one of Harry’s lesser titles as a courtesy title.

H a r r y w a s m a d e E a r l o f Dumbarton in Scotland by the Queen on the morning of his wedding, as well as being given a dukedom, by which title he is more generally known.

T h e d u k e i s u s u a l l y o n l y known by that title when he is physically north of the Border.

Unless the Queen steps in at the last minute, the baby will not be an HRH or a prince due to rules limiting titles within the royal family which were introduced by King George V more than 100 years ago. Baby Sussex will one day inherit the title the Duke of Sussex from Harr y while his surname is expected to be MountbattenWindsor.