Prince William Fulfilled a Promise to Princess Diana When Choosing Princess Charlotte’s Name

When it came time to name his and Kate Middleton’s only daughter, Princess Charlotte, Prince William knew that he wanted to honor his mother Princess Diana in some way—but naming her directly after the late royal would be a slippery slope.

The full name that William and Middleton ended up settling on after the princess’s birth was Charlotte Elizabeth Diana—Diana after his mom, who tragically passed after a car accident in 1997, Elizabeth after William’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, and even a subtle tribute to his father King Charles, as Charlotte serves as the female counterpart to the reigning monarch’s name.

Charlotte’s name also gives a subtle nod to the middle name of Middleton’s sister, Pippa.