THE MAN who correctly guessed the name of Kate and William's third child, Prince Louis, is bringing his A game to predictions for Meghan and Harry's firstborn. Nick Stripe says he is confident that if Baby Sussex is a girl she will be called Alice, but if it's a little prince he is torn between Arthur and Albert. As head of life events at the Office for National Statistics, Nick knows more than most about why people choose certain names for their children. Each year the ONS publishes a list of the country's most popular names and Nick is always fascinated by the risers and fallers. It is well known that the Royals' choice of names for newborns normally leads to a wave of copycats, so he is taking a close interest in the imminent birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's baby.
Nick says: "I suspect they will go for a reasonably traditional one. The bookies seem to think a baby girl is on the way, and so my guess is Alice. Riding high across the country, Alice currently occupies 17th place in the girls' chart.
"It was the name of Prince Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, and that of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, the third child of QueenVictoria and PrinceAlbert."
Nick adds: "For a boy, I'm torn between Albert and Arthur.
"Currently in 59th place in the boys' chart, Albert was not strictly on my list of names to watch out for. But Albie, in 57th place, was.
"Sitting pretty in 19th place, Arthur is more popular than it's been since the 1920s. It's one of the middle names of Prince Charles, William and Louis. And Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, was QueenVictoria's seventh child.
"Famously, of course, King Arthur is perhaps the most legendary and mythical British king ever.
"I really can't decide, so don't put more than £1 on it. No one's ever found the Holy Grail by following my tips."
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (Image: Samir Hussein/Getty Images)
I suspect they will go for a reasonably traditional one
Nick Stripe
Although many people associate Alice with the 1970s' worldwide Smokie hit, Living Next Door To Alice, the name actually derives from the French name Alis, which in turn was a version of the Germanic name, Adalheidis.
It's rough meaning is "of nobility" and "kind" in German and was popular in France in the 12th century.
Its popularity was further boosted with the publication of Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures InWonderland in 1865.
Certainly, Harry and Meghan's daughter would have a fairytale life, wanting for nothing in her Royal wonderland, so comparisons would inevitably be drawn by some between a Royal baby girl and the fictional character.
However, the couple is more likely to be persuaded on the name because of its Royal history.
Princess Alice of Battenberg, the Duke of Edinburgh's mother, was born in the tapestry room of Windsor Castle, Berkshire, in 1885, in the presence of Queen Victoria, her great-granny.
Harry and Meghan were, of course, married at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19 last year.
Prince William and Kate with their children Louis, Charlotte and George (Image: Matt Porteous/REX/Shutterstock)
And they first revealed that Meghan was pregnant at Windsor Castle last October at
