Gun salutes to mark princess birth

Monday 04 May 2015

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 8.34 am, weighing 8 lbs 3 oz.

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.