The vast majority of British punters [seem to think the next royal baby will be a princess] (http://www.womansday.com.au/celebrity/royals/2015/3/royal-baby-odds-favour-a-girl-as-duchess-catherine-approaches-due-date/|target=”_blank”), with 80% of bets favouring a girl over a boy for the gender.
As to the name, “Alice” has been a surprise last-minute favourite despite a name in honour of the current monarch – Elizabeth – having been the odds-on favourite for many months.
Cormac Dowling of British betting agency Betfair, told Hello! magazine: “Elizabeth had been the clear favourite until an unexpected rush of support for Alice over the last 24 hours and we’ve been forced to slash the price from 8/1 to 3/1.”
It’s only weeks to go now though until the British public find out for certain though, with Duchess Catherine recently confirming that Prince George’s younger sibling is due in “mid-to-late April” .
Even Duchess Kate has also dropped a few hints that the new royal bub will likely be a girl , when she was drawn to the baby girl’s clothing section recently while out shopping in the posh London suburb of Chelsea.
Boy or girl though, the royal birth will be celebrated with the highly rare commemorative British £5 coin, to be launched after the tot is born.
After Prince George arrived, the Royal Mint gave away 2,013 commemorative silver coins to babies born on the same day George and also released 10,000 solid silver crown-sized £5 coins – actually worth £80 each.
“The birth of the royal baby will be a joyous occasion not just for [the couple] but also for the whole nation, as we prepare to celebrate another remarkable milestone in their life journey together,” Shane Bissett, Director of Commemorative Coin at the Royal Mint, said in a statement at the time.
This time, the royal mint is not commenting until the baby is born, but the Queen recently approved the decision during a meeting of her Privy Council at Buckingham Palace for when the fourth-in-line to the throne arrives.
See the list of the top 15 most popular baby name choices for the next royal bub:
Alice 3/1
Elizabeth 5/1
Charlotte 11/2
Richard 10/1
James 12/1
Victoria 12/1
Arthur 12/1
Alexandra 12/1
William 14/1
Charles 14/1
Diana 14/1
Philip 14/1
Catherine/Kate 14/1
Mary 14/1
Henry 16/1
