19 February 2024 , 22:58
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Prince George's name is packed full of hidden references to the royals that went before him.
The young prince, who will one day become King, has a full name of Prince George Alexander Louis Mountbatten-Windsor, which his parents the Prince and Princess of Wales would have carefully selected after his birth.
George is a "traditional, classic name" but it has a great deal of "historical connotations", royal biographer and historian Christopher Warwick said shortly after the young lad's birth in 2013. "It might not be too imaginative, but it isn't too surprising."
It has particular significance because one day the youngster will one day be crowned King George VII, the 43rd English monarch to take the throne. That is dependent on his father Prince William taking the throne, and that he doesn't choose to rule by a different moniker. "In a royal context it is a very appropriate and significant name because it means that maybe one day in the dim and distant future this child would become George VII," Warwick added.
Away from the royals, the name George is derived from the Greek word "georgos", which means farmer. One of its earliest usages was when detailing the heroic deeds of St George, a Roman soldier living in Palestine in the third century. He was immortalised for having slain a dragon, according to ancient lore. The saint is also the patron saint of England.
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Prince George shortly after his birth in 2013 (PA)And the prince's second name, Alexander, has its own meaning. It was chosen to pay tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, whose full name was Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. Royal insiders also revealed that Alexandra was one of the names Kate had picked should the couple have had a daughter.
His third name, Louis, is the same middle name as his father Prince William, whose full name is William Arthur Philip Louis. The name was also likely given to honour the Duk of Edinburgh's uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were reportedly considering sending Prince George to a school costing £34,000 a year - amid fears that the £47,000-a-year Marlborough, attended by Kate, has become 'too flashy'.
The Prince and Princess of Wales will have carefully selected his name (PA)According to reports, the pair have added Oundle School to their top choices for the future monarch. The school shares values close to green campaigner King Charles' heart, as it's known for its efforts toward environmental sustainability.
The couple's search for the best school has already seen them visit their own former schools – William's Eton and Kate's Marlborough College. But Oundle, which sits in the middle of the quaint market town of Oundle, in Northamptonshire, is rumoured to be a frontrunner.
The £34,000-a-year co-educational school dates back to 1556 but boasts a modern ethos. Its website reads: "We have a responsibility to ensure that every single member of the school community takes both individual and collective action towards environmental sustainability. We encourage aspiration and abhor arrogance, nurturing open minds, authentic self-belief and a sense of service. We believe that boarding offers the best environment within which to realise these educational ambitions, with day pupils involved fully in the breadth offered by such an education."