Prince William and Kate chose not to name Charlotte after Diana for this surprising reason

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge decided not to name their daughter Princess Charlotte after Diana due to the increased ‘security risk’ it could have posed.

Prince William and Kate Middleton's security fears

Prince William and Kate Middleton were afraid their daughter could have been targeted if she shared the same first name as her late grandmother.

When it came to naming their second-born child, there were two girl names that were completely off limits and those were Diana and Elizabeth, due to the couple's security fears.

Instead, Prince William and Kate chose to use Princess Diana and the Queen‘s name as Charlotte's middle names: Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.

Keeping Princess Diana's memory alive

This decision was addressed in the Channel 5 documentary, Secrets of the Royal Palaces. Daily Mail royal journalist and columnist, Richard Kay, said:

I think he very wisely decided not to give Charlotte his mother’s name as her first name.

Everything she did and said would have been compared with her.

By giving Diana as the middle name, it means Diana is still there.

Royal editor of the Mail on Sunday, Emily Andrews, said:

William has spoken about the loss of his mother and the impact it had.

He thinks about her pretty much every day and he wants to keep his mother’s memory alive.

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Another connection to Princess Diana

The Cambridge’s sons Prince George and Prince Louis were christened at St James’ Palace in London. However, Princess Charlotte was christened at St Mary Magdalene’s Church on the Queen’s Sandringham estate.

As Andrews explained:

It has the history through William’s mother, Diana Spencer, as she was also christened there.

His brother Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle also paid tribute to the Queen and his mother by choosing to name their second child Lilibet Diana.