The beautiful meaning behind the royal baby’s name

On Saturday, the world was introduced to the second royal baby, and today we finally know her name. Welcome to the world Her Highness Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge.

Just when you thought your heartstrings couldn’t stretch one more inch, the Duke and Duchess announce the name of the newest princess and the feels just keep on coming. Besides being gorgeous like her mother, the two-day old beauty now has a name fit for a royal princess.

Charlotte is probably a nod to the newborn’s grandfather Prince Charles. But Elizabeth is a family name in every sense of the word, since both her grandmother, the Queen, and her mommy, the would-be Queen, both share the moniker. It makes sense she would have a traditionally royal name, since she is fourth in line for the throne.

But what’s really choking us up with sentimental nostalgia is the baby’s second middle name, Diana, named for her late grandmother, who died in a car accident in 1997. Many predicted that Kate and William would honor her in this way, but seeing it in such an official way makes my heart just melt inside my chest.

Princess Diana was known for her unfaltering grace and poise, and Little Charlotte looks to be following in her footsteps. Just take a look at how chill she is, only hours after being born, in front of thousands of photographers scrambling to get her picture.

Even though Princess Charlotte is fourth in line, the pressure to lead won’t be as intense as it is for brother George. She’ll have to deal with other sorts of scrutiny. The same sort of attention that her mother and grandmother did as well, over silly things like hair shininess and the size of her hat.

Charlotte is already a popular name right now for little girls. According to The Telegraph, “Charlotte was ranked 21st in the Office for National Statistics girls’ names statistics of 2013,” and is a favorite in Britain right now. Expect it to become even more popular now that the royals have claimed the name.

By the way, Charlotte’s name wasn’t just a big decision for Kate and Will. It was everything to those betting folks who placed big dollars on the expected baby name.  The Telegraph reports that booking houses paid out over a million pounds (which is roughly about $1.5 million) to those who guessed the name correctly.

Whatever the odds, I think Kate and Will made the right choice. A beautifully thoughtful name, for a princess who will, undoubtedly, be as exceptional as her parents.

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