Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, may be keeping plans about their impending baby under wraps, but that hasn’t stopped everyone in Britain from trying to guess the gender and the name of their first child.
If Britain’s bookmakers are to be believed, it’s definitely a girl - and Diana may well be one of her many names.
The William Hill agency closed the betting on the baby’s gender a few days ago after an “avalanche” of bets poured in from people convinced the royal couple is having a girl.
“The secret’s out, as far as we’re concerned,” firm spokesman Rupert Adams said. “It could be because someone somewhere has seen the scan, or someone has heard something.”
So far, Diana is topping the bookmakers’ list as a front-running name - with the odds at 4/1. Victoria, Alice, Grace and Elizabeth are close behind, while Albert, Arthur and James are popular guesses for a boy.
GRANNY: Harry’s mom Diana. Photo: IAN WALDIE/ REUTERS
“A ridiculous number - 80% of bets taken - are for the name Diana,” Adams said.
He said he personally doubts Harry would choose a name that so directly evokes his iconic mother’s tragic death in 1997, but added: “There’s every chance of it being a middle name.”
Carolyn Harris, a royal historian, agrees that Diana could be a middle name, like Prince William and his wife Kate did for their daughter, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.
“The choice of Diana as a first name would place a lot of pressure on the royal baby, as the press would constantly compare her to her famous grandmother,” Harris said.
Harry and Meghan haven’t announced the baby’s gender or the due date, which is widely believed to be sometime later this month.