Here's Why Meghan Markle Probably Won't Be Prince Louis' Godmother
The great British tradition of taking bets on the behavior of the royal family has its eyes set on a new prize: predicting who will be named Prince Louis‘s godparents.
On Wednesday, Kensington Palace announced that Prince Louis will be christened on Monday, July 9, at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace in London. The godparents will be publicly announced at the christening.
Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle is barely on the shortlist, at 14/1 odds, but the distinction will also most likely not go to her husband, Prince Harry, either. Instead of naming close immediately family, Prince William and Kate have opted in the past to honor close friends and confidants for their elder two children, and the trend is likely to continue.
Jessica Bridge, a representative from British bookmakers Ladbrokes commented, “As with George and Charlotte, [William and Kate] chose close and trusted friends and aides, rather than immediate family members, and the odds suggest that will be the same with little Prince Louis.”
But the odds are in more people’s favor than you might think, since the children of the royal family take more than two godparents. Princess Charlotte has five godparents and Prince George, as the heir to the throne, has seven.
According to Ladbrokes, the favorites for the role of godparent include longtime staff members to the royal family. Tiggy Pettifer, former assistant and nanny to William and Harry, is listed at 2/1 odds, and William’s most trusted aide, former private secretary Miguel Head, comes in at 5/4.
At 3/1, William’s stepsister Laura Lopes, daughter of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is next most likely, followed by Kate’s former secretary Rebecca Priestly, at 4/1. Friends of the royal family David Jardine-Paterson and Hugh van Cutsem both come from families that have had members selected to be godparents to Prince George and rank at 5/1.
Princess Diana’s sisters Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale are considered 6/1 odds. Farther down the list, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are at 7/1 odds, and Kate’s siblings Pippa and James Middleton trail at 10/1 odds.
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