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| The Princess of Cambridge (Photo: PA) |
Royal gun salutes will be fired today to
mark the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's baby princess.
The
deafening volleys will ring out across the capital this afternoon in
celebration of William and Kate's second child who was born on Saturday at
8.34am, weighing 8lbs 3oz.
Meanwhile
the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have decided on a name for their daughter but
want to inform the Queen personally today before it is publicly released, royal
sources have revealed.
They
introduced their newborn – the most senior royal princess to be born for 65
years – to her brother George and to their families yesterday.
And
today it is understood she will meet her great-grandmother, the Queen, when the
family leave Kensington Palace to embark on a new life in Norfolk, where the
monarch is in residence.
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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
with the newborn princess, whose birth is to be marked by royal gun salutes
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There
is no protocol which says the monarch needs to be consulted about the name of a
newborn in the family, and senior royal sources have stressed she has no
expectation of being informed in person before the princess's name is made
public.
However,
William, who has grown especially close to his grandmother in recent years, has
apparently decided to afford her the honour when they meet in
Sandringham.
Yesterday
Prince Harry described William and Kate's daughter as "absolutely beautiful"
and her doting grandparents visited the baby princess for the first time.
Harry
spoke movingly about his niece from Australia where he has been working with
the country's armed forces and said he could not "wait to meet her".
The
Cambridges also thanked well-wishers for their support following the birth of
their daughter, who is fourth in line to the throne and the Queen's fifth
great-grandchild.
William
and Kate have kept the world guessing as to the name of their second child but
are likely to have told the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Michael
and Carole Middleton when they visited Kensington Palace to see their
granddaughter.
In
the coming days the Cambridges will return to their Norfolk home, close to the
Queen's Sandringham estate, and may be waiting until they have told the monarch
personally before announcing the name.
The
favourite name among bookies has changed repeatedly in recent days with Alice
and Charlotte among those fancied but Elizabeth and Olivia are also proving
popular.
William
Hill has seen six figures wagered on the royal baby's name since the princess
was born and estimates the industry figure may have reached a million pounds at
the end of Sunday.
Jessica
Bridge from Ladbrokes said: "Bookies all over the UK are hoping and
praying for any name other than Alice, Charlotte, Victoria, Elizabeth, Olivia,
Alexandra or Diana.''
In
Hyde Park at 2pm, 41 volleys will be fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse
Artillery.
At
the same time the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) will fire a 62-gun salute
at the Tower of London - an extra 21 for the City of London.
The
soldiers, horses and guns of the King's Troop will ride out in procession from
their forward mounting base in Wellington Barracks through London and to the
north of Hyde Park to fire the volleys.
They
will be accompanied by music from the Royal Artillery Band and their 71 horses
will pull six First World War-era Ordnance Quick Fire 13-pounder field guns.
The
HAC will leave their barracks at Armoury House pulling three Ceremonial 105mm
Light Guns with their liveried Pinzgauer vehicles and drive through the City
with an escort to the Tower of London.
The
weapons will be fired from Gun Wharf, overlooking HMS Belfast.
The custom is for gun
salutes to be fired for the birth of every prince or princess, no matter where
their place in line of succession.
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