Wait for name of new princess

Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, appear with their baby daughter...
Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, appear with their baby daughter outside St Mary's Hospital, in London. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton
Royal watchers didn't have to wait long for the Duchess of Cambridge to give birth after she was admitted to hospital but they're in for a longer wait to learn the name of the new princess.

William and Kate on Sunday showed off their daughter to their parents a day after she was born; however, her name might be kept under wraps until they've also introduced her to the Queen.

Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, visited Kensington Palace in London along with Kate's parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, and her sister, Pippa.

Charles has made no secret of the fact he wanted his second grandchild to be a girl and he drove himself to the palace to meet her.

The Prince of Wales jumped behind the wheel of an Audi station wagon with Camilla in the passenger seat beside him.

Prince Harry couldn't visit because he's in Australia nearing the end of his month-long attachment with the army.

But he needed only to look at websites or newspapers to see photographs of his newborn niece.

"She is absolutely beautiful," Harry said in a statement released by Kensington Palace.

"I can't wait to meet her."

That won't be for at least a fortnight, however.

The prince travels to New Zealand next weekend for an eight-day tour.

Punters are tipping the new princess will be called Alice or Charlotte although Elizabeth and Olivia are also proving popular.

But William and Kate appear in no rush to reveal the name publicly.

For royal watchers who spent a fortnight camped outside St Mary's hospital waiting for the duchess to go into labour, the Great Kate Wait has been replaced with the Name Game.

The Cambridges may be holding fire until they've travelled to their Norfolk home Anmer Hall - which is on the Queen's Sandringham estate - and told the monarch the news personally.

That could happen today.

If the name was released shortly afterwards it would come two days after Kate gave birth on Saturday morning (local time).

In mid-2013 the duchess had her first child on a Monday afternoon and the royal couple announced they were "delighted" to name him George on Wednesday evening.

The couple's daughter was born on 8.34am, less than three hours after Kate was admitted to the private Lindo Wing at St Mary's.

William and Kate on Sunday said they were "hugely grateful" for the messages of congratulations they'd received from all over the world.

"It means a great deal to them that so many people have celebrated the arrival of their new daughter," a Kensington Palace spokesman said in a statement.

Gun salutes will be fired in Hyde Park and at the Tower of London on Monday afternoon to mark the birth of the new princess who's fourth in line to the British throne.

 

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