As the Duchess of Cambridge goes into the early stages of labour with her third child, punters are tipping that the newest royal baby will be a girl named Mary.
One British bookmaker has made the name its 3-1 favourite, followed by Alice 6-1 and Victoria 8-1, while another prominent UK bookmaker has Mary and Alice as its joint favoured monikers at 5-1, with Victoria next with odds of 8-1.
Royal fans outside Lindo Wing of St. Mary's hospital. Source: AAP
For boys names, Albert, Arthur and Fred are all at odds of 14-1 with the first bookmaker, while the other has Albert and Arthur at 12-1, and a number of names at 16-1 including Arthur, Fred and Philip.
William's great-great-grandmother, the wife of George V, was called Mary, a woman who the Prince of Wales still speaks of fondly, and Mary is one of the Queen's middle names.
Britain has seen two Marys on the throne - Mary I, known as Bloody Mary for her persecution of Protestants, and Mary II, who ruled jointly as monarch with her Dutch husband, William III.
If William and Kate have a girl they may be considering naming her Alice which was the name of the Duke of Edinburgh's mother.
Princess Alice of Battenberg was born deaf but learned to speak and lip-read four languages, married Princess Andrew of Greece in 1903.
Her grandmother was another Princess Alice - the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria - who lived in Germany after marrying Prince Louis of Hesse.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their children, George and Charlotte. Source: AAP
