Kensington Palace announced early Monday morning that Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton had gone into labor with her and Prince William’s third child. On Friday, they announced that his name is Louis Arthur Charles. Being a royal baby and all, he will officially be known as “His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge,” which is only marginally more awkward than the original.
A new royal baby boy has arrived. His name is Louis Arthur Charles.
Louis Arthur Charles, Kate Middleton and Prince William’s third child, is the first boy in British history who won’t cut his older sister in line for the throne.
Caroline Framke wrote about culture, which usually means television. Also seen @ The A.V. Club, The Atlantic, Complex, Flavorwire, NPR, the fridge to get more seltzer.
Were it not for the “Prince Harry and Meghan Markle prepare for their wedding” show, this birth would have been the undisputed biggest royal news of the spring. Still, this newest royal baby is significant if only because he has automatically skipped ahead of Prince Harry in the line of succession for the British throne. Louis is now fifth: Currently, the queue starts with Prince Charles, then William, followed by the new baby’s older siblings George and Charlotte.
In fact, before 2013, a new baby boy would have superseded Charlotte. But the new Succession to the Crown Act made it official that the line of succession would continue according to age, not gender — making Louis the first royal boy in history to not cut his older sister in line.
As with literally anything regarding the royal family, this birth will be accompanied by approximately a metric ton of pomp and circumstance. One of my favorite touches that has somehow stood the test of time is that the birth still gets announced by a “town crier,” complete with an outfit fit for a particularly luxe production of The Pirates of Penzance.
