The royal baby could be called Louis, if the old adage of following the money proves correct.
Bookmakers are reporting a flood of money for the name, which has resulted in the odds taking a nosedive during the course of Wednesday.
Had you bet a dollar on Kate and William calling their kid Louis at 9 a.m. British time today, you would have won $33 if correct; if you place the bet now, you will only get $3.
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A source at one of Britain’s largest bookmakers, Paddy Power, told The Daily Beast: “I’ve just spoken to our trader and he said over the past hour or so, the cash has been flooding in for Louis. We’ve even had bets of £250, £500 within the last few minutes, so pretty crazy money flying in for Louis.”
Louis is closing the gap on the favorite, Alexander, which is at 2/1, meaning two bucks back for every buck wagered.
Alexander’s popularity spiked after Alexander Downer, the Australian High Commissioner, said to William that he thought his own Christian name would be a good choice for the new prince, and the duke replied: “Funny you should say that... It’s a good name.”
Seasoned royal watchers might however be forgiven for being skeptical that either of the names will be chosen, as Prince George (remember him?) has the middle names… Alexander and Louis.
It would be extremely unusual for one son in a family to be given a first name that is also another son’s middle name, although the reasoning behind “Louis” is that it would be a way to honor Prince Philip’s maternal grandfather, Louis Mountbatten.
The Daily Beast’s guess is Louis is not a runner, nor Alexander. After all, what was William supposed to say to the ambassador?
“We’re definitely not calling him that,” might have been undiplomatic.
Arthur, James, Philip, or Albert remain this writer's top choices, although Will and Kate could throw a curveball and call the kid Joffrey.
