He is known as the cheeky prince who steals the show at royal appearances.
In fact, when Louis Arthur Charles was born at 11:01 AM on April 23, 2018, he appeared to be sporting an adorable royal wave when he was first revealed to the world.
In the days that followed, royal guards were desperate to find out what name Kate and Prince William would choose for their second son.
But the pair waited four days to reveal it via their Twitter account and in a press statement.
A sassy-looking Prince Louis in a portrait released ahead of his fifth birthday. It perfectly reflects his playful character
How the Daily Mail reported the birth of a third child for William and Kate, baby Louis, in April 2018
The Wales’ certainly kept royal fans on their toes – they waited four days to reveal Louis’s name via their official Twitter account
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles.
‘The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge’ said the palace.
The choice surprised pundits, as bookies had Arthur as their favorite for a while.
The delay in the announcement is said to be due to the couple’s difficulties agreeing on a name.
While the names of both George and Charlotte were announced two days after they were born, a royal source said: “They didn’t know if they were going to have a boy or a girl. When he arrived, they began to think things over. They didn’t keep it to themselves. They were still deciding.’
William’s own parents waited a week before deciding on his names. Princess Diana would have preferred Sebastian and Oliver while Charles waited for Albert.
So why did Kate and William choose the name Louis?
As with most royal names, it is steeped in meaning. Louis means ‘famous warrior’ or ‘famous in battle’ and the name originates from France and Germany.
Louis is one of William’s own middle names, chosen by his father Charles in honor of his late mentor, Lord Louis Mountbatten.
The Earl was killed along with two other people in 1979 by an IRA bomb placed on his fishing boat in Mullaghmore, County Sligo, Ireland.
Beaming William and Kate holding their bundle of joy outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington in 2018
The name Louis was the name of Prince Charles’ beloved great-uncle and mentor, Earl Mountbatten (pictured), who was murdered by the IRA
Queen Elizabeth II (centre) wrote a letter describing Lord Louis ‘Dickie’ Mountbatten (far left) as a ‘splendid person’ after he was killed in the IRA attack
His teenage grandson Nicky Knatchbull, teenage boat hand Paul Maxwell were killed by the blast, along with passenger widow Lady Brabourne, who died the following day.
The deaths were portrayed in the Netflix series The Crown.
The IRA took responsibility and called it ‘an execution’.
Earl Mountbatten was also a great-grandson of Queen Victoria and was related to both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
King Charles’s goddaughter, India Hicks, posted a letter that the late Queen wrote after the Earl’s murder.
She described Lord Louis ‘Dickie’ Mountbatten as a ‘splendid person’.
In her own handwriting she added, “Now that some time has passed and we can see beyond the bitter fury of such a senseless waste of life and the fact that we should not be intimidated by such horrible people, you can make sure we’ve taken into account fears like yours!’
Meanwhile, the name Louis, although not a ‘traditional’ name, ran in the family, as the Earl’s father was also named Louis, along with Prince Philip’s grandfather, Prince Louis of Battenberg.
And according to sources, Louis was chosen simply because William and Kate liked it so much – which is no surprise as it’s also one of Prince George’s middle names.
Historian Dr Judith Rowbotham said at the time that Louis was a ‘bit of a surprise’ but added that it was still a safe bet.
She said it was not only “a very warm tribute,” but also “an acknowledgment of a wider heritage.”
Why did Kate and William choose Arthur as their middle name?
Louis’s first middle name – Arthur – is truly a family tradition: both William and grandfather Charles have it as a middle name.
It was also the name of Queen Victoria’s third son, who was said to be her favorite child.
Why did Kate and William choose Charles as their middle name?
Louis has Charles as his second middle name, which is of course a tribute to his grandfather, the King.
Meanwhile, Joe Little, editor of the royal magazine Majesty, said of the name Louis in 2018: “I’m actually a little surprised. We all seem to have missed Louis when we thought of Arthur or Albert or James.
“We didn’t think about it because it’s George’s middle name and William’s middle name, and I just didn’t think William and Kate would reuse a name they used for their firstborn.
“I didn’t think it would be Albert, because he doesn’t pass the modern playground test.”
He continued, “It’s nice to have Charles as a nod to the baby’s grandfather, although I was surprised there was no acknowledgment for the Middletons.
“I thought Michael, Kate’s father, would appear as a middle name somewhere.
As The Daily Mail reported, Prince Louis was the heaviest royal baby in a century
Little Prince Louis always makes royal fans laugh with his animated expressions
Prince Louis with the Royal Family on Christmas Day in Sandringham
“I also thought we’d see Philip there, though I know there’s a tribute to Philip through his Mountbatten grandfather and uncle.”
The little prince was also measured at birth as the heaviest royal baby boy in 100 years.
The young prince weighed a whopping 8 pounds 7 oz, which was three ounces more than his older brother George.
Prince Louis’ weight fell within the current healthy range of six to nine pounds – despite Sky News presenter Kay Burley calling him “a fattener” at the time.
However, Louis isn’t the heaviest royal baby overall, as that title belongs to Savannah Phillips – the daughter of the Queen’s grandson, Peter Phillips – who weighed in at 8lb 8oz at birth in 2010 .
