Royal Baby Names

Because I've written (and continue to write) stories that feature royal romances, keeping an eye on the happenings in London is an occupational hazard. With Kate Middleton due to deliver a new heir to the British throne any day, I decided to poll a slew of author friends about their predictions for the royal baby name (and whether they think Will and Kate will have a boy or a girl.)

What do you think? Add your own predictions in the comments! If you have a reason for a particular name, let me know.

My picks:

For a Boy:  Arthur
For a Girl:  Charlotte
Boy or Girl?  Girl

- Note:  My husband says there's no way Will and Kate would name a baby Arthur, because King Arthur creates rather high expectations.  My response? "Oh, because William is easy? As in William the Conqueror?" Time will tell.  Besides, I don't think it'll matter, as the baby will be a girl named Charlotte.

Picks from other authors:

•  Linda Winstead Jones, author of The Shades Trilogy (Shades of Midnight, Shades of Winter, Shades of Scarlet):

For a Boy:  Edward
For a Girl:  Diana
Boy or Girl?  Girl

•  Erin Downing, author of None of the Regular Rules:

For a Boy:  George
For a Girl:  Hermione (with a middle name of Diana)
Boy or Girl?  Boy

•  Virginia Kantra, author of Carolina Home:

For a Boy:  James
For a Girl:  Grace
Boy or Girl?  Boy

•  Emily March, author of Reflection Point:

For a Boy:  Phillip
For a Girl:  Alexandra
Boy or Girl?  Girl

•  Susan Sizemore, author of Memory of Morning:

For a Boy:  Phillip
For a Girl:  Diana (with a middle name of Elizabeth)
Boy or Girl?  Don't care as long as it's healthy and looks more like mom's side than dad's.  (Ed. note:  Hilarious...I think I'll count that as "girl.")

•  Elizabeth Boyle, author of And the Miss Ran Away With the Rake:

For a Boy:  Phillip
For a Girl:  Elizabeth (Ed. note:  So predictable...)
Boy or Girl:  Of course it's a girl!

and finally, a prediction from Christina Dodd, author of Lady in Black:  

For a Boy:  William        

For a Girl:  Christina (Ed. note:  Hmmmm...do I detect a pattern here?)     

Boy or Girl:  Girl
-- Christina also predicts that Her Royal Highness Princess Christina will be born on July 14.    Wonder where she got that birthdate? Because I can guess....

Just for fun and in keeping with today's royalty theme, I thought I'd share the cover of my very first book, a now hard-to-find royal romance called Going to the Castle. Check out the heroine's hairstyle. (You can click on the cover if you want a closer look.)

Trivia moment:  When the publisher's art department asked me to describe the heroine's dress, I sent a photo of a gown worn by Princess Diana in the late 90s. They ended up using that exact gown on the cover.

While I like the dress on the original cover, I think I like the cover of the Japanese manga version better overall.


Think the royal baby will grow up to look like any of these characters? My guess:  Not a chance. I'm also willing to bet it won't have either of these characters' names, which are Jennifer and Antony.