Prince George, Charlotte and Louis very nearly had different baby names as Kate Middleton ‘set her heart’ on moniker with a sweet link to the late Queen (and we love it)

Kate Middleton's favourite baby name has been revealed and while she never got to use it, it would've made the perfect choice for her kids thanks to its sweet link to the late Queen Elizabeth II. 

Kate Middleton has been incredibly open in the past about the pressure she felt to choose her kids' names. Any parent will understand her struggle - choosing a child's name can feel like an impossible task when there's everything from unique baby names to old fashioned baby names to choose from. 

But we can all agree that she settled on the perfect names for Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, five, with the regal-sounding monikers feeling fitting for both their positions in the royal line of succession and for their growing personalities. 

But it has been revealed that Kate had 'set her heart' on a very different name before she and Prince William settled on George, then on Charlotte, and then on Louis, with the Princess never getting the chance to use her favourite baby name for any of her kids. 

Speaking about Kate's first pregnancy and her plans to use the name, royal expert Katie Nicholl told Vanity Fair, "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.

"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."

We don't know exactly why the couple didn't use the name Alexander, with some suspecting they chose George as a nod to Queen Elizabeth’s father King George VI. But they did use it as a middle name for Prince George when he was born, his full name being George Alexander Louis. They also didn't use the name for Louis but reportedly very nearly used it for Charlotte, albeit in the feminine form. 

According to reports in The Mirror, Alexandra was another of Kate's favourite names and was hoping to use it should she have a little girl. The name has a sweet link to Queen Elizabeth too as it was the late monarch's middle name. Her full name was Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, likely in tribute to her mother Queen Elizabeth, her great-grandmother Queen Alexandra and grandmother Queen Mary.

However, again, William and Kate did not use the name. Charlotte was instead called Charlotte Elizabeth Diana which, like Queen Elizabeth's name, is a name full of hidden tributes to Royal Family.

In other royal news, Queen Elizabeth is in full mum-mode in never-before-seen photo released by Buckingham Palace and Prince Louis inherited mischievous personality from his dad as unearthed clips show Prince William getting ‘told off’ by the late Queen. Plus, Princess Lilibet has taken after grandmother Princess Diana with her new ‘favourite’ hobby, reveals Meghan Markle.