Kate Middleton's Heart Was Set on Another Name for Prince George

luxembourg may 11 catherine, duchess of cambridge outside the city museum along the corniche to view the capital during a one day visit on may 11, 2017 in luxembourg the duchess will attend a series of engagements to celebrate the cultural and historic ties between the uk and luxembourg and the official commemoration of the 1867 treaty of london, which confirmed luxembourgs independence and neutrality photo by samir husseinwireimage — (Image credit: Samir Hussein)

Although she and Prince William named their firstborn George, Kate Middleton reportedly had "set her heart" on another name for a baby boy.
According to royal expert Katie Nicholl, the Duchess of Cambridge had "Alexander" at the top of her list of favorite names for a boy.
The couple settled on George to honor the Queen’s father, King George VI, but Kate's favorite boy name was used as their son's middle name.

Kate Middleton has never tried to hide her personal struggles with parenting and now, one of her earliest parenting dilemmas has come to light. It all had to do with choosing a name for her first child, Prince George, before his birth in 2013.

While Kate and her husband, Prince William, eventually settled on George Alexander Louis for the name, Kate originally had "set her heart" on another first name, according to The Mirror.

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"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," royal expert Katie Nicholl said of that time in the Cambridges' lives, according to The Mirror. "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."

Although the couple opted to keep George's sex a surprise, a friend said that Kate suspected he was a boy "because the baby kicked so much."

Eventually, Will and Kate settled on George as a first name, to honor the Queen’s father, King George VI and the Duchess' favorite baby boy name was used as his middle name.

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Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.