So some of you may have heard that among the 300,000 babies born yesterday, there was a certain baby born to a certain mother who happens to be married to the second in line for the British throne.
One of the biggest questions that any new parents have to answer is: what will we name the baby? Prince William has three middle names: Arthur, Philip and Louis; his wife, Catherine, only has one: Elizabeth. While the world waits, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has created a Royal Baby Name Generator. I took a crack at it and came up with George Arthur Francis Frederick. Personally, the historian in me would prefer that they reach way, way, way back for something like Alfred, Ethelwulf or Ealhmund. I’ll bet that there won’t be any kids in school with those names.
Fairy tales, fables and myths are filled with stories about princesses and princes. Even before Walt Disney made the adventures of heirs and heiresses into a multi-billion dollar industry, these stories have fascinated generations of children old and new. Perhaps there will be opportunities for heroics and derring-do in this little prince’s life, if only in the nursery. We wish the baby well and that he may have many adventures against wizards and dragons.