After days of public conjecture following the royal birth at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's hospital, London, on Saturday - Kate Middleton and Prince William have finally announced the name of their little princess. Fourth-in-line to the throne has been christened Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, named after her late grandmother, the Princess of Wales.
Delivered safely on Saturday, and weighing 8lbs 3oz, her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is named formerly in honour of her grandfather. In etymology, Charlotte is the feminine form of Charles, and became established in the 18th Century as the name of George III's Queen.
More recently, however, 'Charlotte' bears more personal relations for the Duke and Duchess: it is the middle name of Pippa Middleton, as well as the name of Prince William's cousin, Charlotte Spencer, in a portrayal of cousinly mutuality. The princess, of course, is additionally named in honour of her Great-Grandmother, her majesty the Queen. As a Kensington Palace official reported to a BBC correspondent: "We'll let the names speak for themselves."
Most striking, however, is evidently the legacy that is encompassed in her name. The ultimate part of her middle name remembers her late grandmother, Diana Princess of Wales. The 42,000 young Diana Awards holders of The Diana Awards Charity - the only charity that bears the name of Princess Diana and today has the support of both her sons the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry - offer their heartfelt congratulations to the Royal couple.
CEO Tessy Ojo stated today: "The Diana Award is the only charity set up in the late Princess' memory. [ … ] Both Princess Diana's sons have said how special this award is which encapsulates the late Princess' innate qualities of human compassion and drive to improve the lives of others. It is lovely to know that her legacy lives on though Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana."
Indeed, it seems very fitting that Princess Charlotte was born in exactly the same ward where her grandmother gave birth to Prince William in 1982, and Prince Harry in 1984.
Ojo continues, "Diana would have been a proud grandmother for the second time," and indeed, as Prince William reportedly announced when first giving the Duchess Diana's engagement ring, it is a way of keeping his mother "close to it all."
