Kate Middleton 'set her heart' on baby name with special link to Queen Elizabeth but she never got to use it

The Princess of Wales had reportedly “set her heart” on a baby name with a link to Queen Elizabeth but she never got to use it as any of her children's first name.

Naming a baby is never easy and for the Prince and Princess of Wales the task was made even harder with Prince George as they knew their firstborn would be high in the royal line of succession and would become monarch one day. Speculation about their possible name was huge ahead of his birth and the proud parents settled on George Alexander Louis. However, according to royal expert Katie Nicholl, Kate had “set her heart” on using Alexander as their baby’s first name if he was a boy.

"Courtiers insisted the pair had not found out the sex of their unborn baby, and friends close to the couple claim William wanted a surprise," Katie alleged in Vanity Fair. "Although Kate apparently suspected it was a boy and had set her heart on the name Alexander, they had not yet decided what to call their firstborn."

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There's never been a British monarch called Alexander, but there have been three Scottish monarchs with this adorable moniker. Prince William and Kate went for Alexander as a middle name for Prince George when he was born, perhaps in a nod to Queen Elizabeth’s father King George VI. However, Alexander has a special link to the late Queen herself.

The feminine form of this - Alexandra - was one of Queen Elizabeth’s middle names. She was named Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, seemingly after her mother Queen Elizabeth, her great-grandmother Queen Alexandra and grandmother Queen Mary.

Intriguingly, The Mirror previously suggested that Alexandra was supposedly also one of Kate’s favourite potential baby names for a little girl. Despite this, the name that Kate had apparently "set her heart" on never ended up being used as the first name for any of her children.

When Princess Charlotte was born she was named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana and Prince Louis’s full name is Louis Arthur Charles. Whilst Alexander and Alexandra might not have been used as first names for any of her three kids, at least the Princess of Wales’s special name does feature in Prince George’s full moniker.

During her pregnancy with Prince George, the now-mum-of-three "was reported to have affectionately referred to her bump as ‘our little grape'", as per Katie Nicholl. The future Queen and King have also publicly shared several of their nicknames for George, Charlotte and Louis at engagements over the years too.

Prince William was heard referring to their daughter as "Mignonette" which roughly translates to "little sweet" when the family visited Kate’s Back to Nature garden at the 2019 Chelsea Flower Show. Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales is said to have called Princess Charlotte "Lottie" during  a visit to Northern Ireland that year.

Reports have also claimed that the doting parents use the names "PG" and "Tips" for Prince George after his initials which then link to the British tea brand, PG Tips. Prince Louis’s nickname is another cute one and was revealed during the family’s day of volunteering during the coronation weekend last year when they were roasting marshmallows.

"Pop that in the fire, Lou Bugs," Kate apparently said as her youngest child held his empty marshmallow stick aloft.