William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have named their son George Alexander Louis, Kensington Palace announced late Wednesday.
The baby, who was born on Monday, will be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.
The name had been the favourite among punters, according to bookmakers and there have been six previous kings called George. The last was Queen Elizabeth II’s father, who died in 1952.
Royals tend to choose from a traditional pool of names in order to represent the continuity of the monarchy. St George is also the patron saint of England.
Louis, one of William’s own names, is likely to be a tribute to Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was assassinated by the IRA in 1979.
Mountbatten was uncle to Prince Philip, the baby’s great-grandfather, and was very close to the baby’s grandfather, Prince Charles.
Alexander was a choice favoured by Kate, according to the BBC’s royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell.
The queen, who has reportedly said she was “thrilled” by the arrival of her newest great-grandchild, was probably told of the name when she visited him for the first time earlier on Wednesday.
Kate and William returned home on Tuesday to Kensington Palace with the newborn.
Their emergence from the London hospital where the prince was born ended a long wait for hundreds of reporters and photographers who had been camped outside for weeks to get a first glimpse of the baby, the third in line to the throne.
But after the queen’s visit, the new family travelled to the rural home of Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, the BBC reported. The duchess was widely expected to spend the first few weeks after the birth there.
Royal spokesmen refused to confirm their whereabouts.
After the media frenzy surrounding the birth, a royal spokesman said the couple now wished for some privacy. “This is now private and quiet time for them to get to know their son,” he said.
Prince George’s birth means there are three living direct heirs to the throne for the first time since 1894, when Queen Victoria’s great-grandson, the future Edward VIII, was born.
An official photograph of the new family was expected to be released in the coming weeks, and in the next couple of months, the baby is to be christened, probably at Buckingham Palace.
William is taking two weeks paternity leave from his job as an air force search and rescue helicopter pilot in Angelsey in north Wales while it is not known how much time Kate would take-off from her royal duties.
The birth appeared set to fuel a retail boom as media detailed the royal baby-related goods on offer.
Royal fans and prospective parents can buy everything from a Lego Cambridge family to a Fisher Price Royal potty or their own gold easel, modelled on the one used outside Buckingham Palace to announce the Prince’s birth.
One study by the Centre for Retail Research predicted that the royal baby would generate 243 million pounds ($ 373 million) in sales from July 1 to August 31.
That comprises 87 million pounds spent on celebrating the birth, 80 million pounds spent on souvenirs and toys and another 76 million pounds spent on books, DVDs and media.