The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have named their infant son - George Alexander Louis.

HRH Prince George of Cambridge, the third-in-line to the throne, will eventually be known as King George VII.

The couple's decision on the name - the bookies' favourite - was announced Wednesday, 2 days after his birth.

It happened quickly by historical standards - it took a week for the name of the new prince's father to be revealed to the world and a month before the public found out his grandfather was called Prince Charles.

Six King Georges have worn the British crown throughout history since the German-born George I, the first Hanoverian king of Great Britain, acceded to the throne in 1714.

The last was Queen Elisabeth's father George VI who died in 1952, but was known to his family as Bertie. He is the King featured in the starring role of the Oscar-winning film 'The King's Speech'.

IRA victim is namesake

The name Louis - one of William's middle names - is likely to be a tribute to Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Duke of Edinburgh's uncle and the last British Viceroy of India before independence in 1947.

Lord Mountbatten and William's father the Prince of Wales were very close, with Charles confiding in his relative.

He was known by the Royal Family as Uncle Dickie, and was assassinated by the IRA in August 1979.

The other middle name, Alexander, is one that three medieval Scottish kings have had. 

Judith Rowbotham, a social historian at Nottingham Trent University, said she was surprised by the choice because the personal life of the first Prince George of Cambridge had caused a great deal of scandal. Born in 1819, he did not seek the sovereign's approval when he wed an actress, and he also had a mistress.

William Hill said George had been by far and away the best-backed boys name and ended as the 2/1 favourite ahead of James and Louis.