Here’s a little historic background on the names selected for Britain’s new prince – George Alexander Louis… Previous kings of Great Britain named George and the years they reigned: George I (1714-1727) George II (1727-1760) George III (1760-1820) George IV (1820-1830) George V (1910-1936) George VI (1936-1952) When a monarch in the U.K. ascends the throne, they can pick any of their given names to rule with. Assuming the current Prince of Wales goes with Charles III, not George VII, his grandson would be George VII when he becomes king. The last monarch to choose George as his ruling name was the current Queen’s father (his first name was Albert). He was the subject of the recent Oscar-winning film, The King’s Speech. If the new prince decided to go with his 2nd name, Alexander, he would become Alexander IV of Scotland, and just plain King Alexander in England, Wales, and the fifteen other Commonwealth countries that still recognize the British Monarchy. Louis, which is also one of William’s middle names, is for Lord Louis Mountbatten, Prince Charles’ favorite (grand-)uncle and mentor who was killed in 1979 by an IRA bomb. Because the name was so popular with French monarchs, it is unlikely that the new prince or his father would choose to become King Louis.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:57:09 +0000