Royal baby: Family members visit new princess

Family members have arrived at Kensington Palace to visit the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's new baby daughter.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are at the palace.

Earlier, the Duchess of Cambridge's mother, Carole Middleton, and her sister Pippa also arrived to meet their newest relative.

The name of the duke and duchess's second child - sister to Prince George - could be announced later.

The princess, who is fourth in line to the throne, was delivered at 08:34 BST on Saturday at St Mary's Hospital in London, and weighed 8lbs 3oz (3.7kg).

Tower Bridge was among several London landmarks lit up in pink in her honour.

Trafalgar Square's fountains and the London Eye were also illuminated on Saturday night to mark the birth.

Bookmakers have said Charlotte and Alice have emerged as the favourite names for the princess, followed by Olivia, Victoria and Elizabeth.

The Cambridges will spend the next few days at Kensington Palace; afterwards they are expected to travel to their country home Anmer Hall on the Queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

Bookmakers have said Charlotte and Alice have emerged as the favourite names for the princess, followed by Olivia, Victoria and Elizabeth.

Meanwhile, almost all of the UK's national newspapers have given over the entire front pages of their Sunday editions to the birth and a photograph of the new princess.

ROYAL BABY NAMES: THE HISTORY

Charlotte, the feminine form of Charles, has a long royal pedigree and became popular in the 18th century when it was the name of George III's queen.

The King bought Buckingham House in 1761 for his wife Queen Charlotte to use as a family home close to St James's Palace - it became known as the Queen's House and is now Buckingham Palace.

Charles is the name of two former Kings and of the Prince of Wales, the princess's grandfather.

Charlotte also has a connection on the duchess's side, as the middle name of her sister Pippa Middleton.

Alice, the previous bookmakers' favourite, was the name of the Duke of Edinburgh's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg and of his great-grandmother, who was the third child of Queen Victoria.

During the First World War, his mother's family changed Battenberg, the family name, to Mountbatten - the name which Prince Philip adopted when he became a naturalised British subject in 1947.

Other royal Alices include the Queen's aunt by marriage, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester and one of Queen Victoria's granddaughters, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone.

Also in the running, according to the bookmakers, are the names Olivia, Victoria and Elizabeth.

While Olivia has no immediately apparent royal connections, it was the second most popular girls' name for babies born in England and Wales in 2013, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Victoria and Elizabeth are arguably the most famous female names in British royal history - with Queen Victoria the longest reigning monarch, and the present Queen Elizabeth II set to surpass her record on September 9, 2015.

The Queen Mother was also called Elizabeth, and it is the middle name of the duchess's mother, Carole Middleton.

Queen Victoria is associated with Britain's great age of industrial expansion, economic progress and, particularly, empire. While the 45-year reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the daughter of Henry VIII and the last Tudor monarch, is considered one of the most glorious in English history, including the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the first works of Shakespeare.

The duchess was admitted to the private Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, west London, at 06:00 BST on Saturday.

The birth was announced by Clarence House on Twitter at about 11:00 BST, but also with the traditional bulletin on a gilded easel outside Buckingham Palace - a practice that dates to 1837. People queued for a glimpse of the notice, which was only up for 24 hours and has now been removed.

With their new daughter wrapped in a white shawl, the duke and duchess emerged from the hospital to crowds of well-wishers and the world's media, a little less than 10 hours after the birth.

They stood on the steps of the Lindo Wing briefly before heading back inside to put the sleeping princess in a car seat. Prince William, who had been present for the birth, then drove them to Kensington Palace.

William's uncle Earl Spencer said: "It's wonderful news - we are all thrilled for all four of them."

'VERY HAPPY'

When Prince William left the hospital shortly before 16:00 BST, to fetch his son for a visit to his new sister, he told those outside he was "very happy".

In a statement issued after the birth, Kensington Palace said: "Their Royal Highnesses would like to thank all staff at the hospital for the care and treatment they have all received.

"They would also like to thank everyone for their warm wishes."

The duke's father the Prince of Wales, who had said he wanted his second grandchild to be a girl, and Duchess of Cornwall were left "absolutely delighted" by the news, Clarence House has said.

Messages of congratulations also came from the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and political leaders including Prime Minister David Cameron, who called it "wonderful news".

US president Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle wished the duke and duchess "much joy and happiness on the occasion of the arrival of the newest member of their family".

On Monday, the princess's birth will be marked by gun salutes in Hyde Park and the Tower of London.

Soldiers from The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery will ride out in procession from Wellington Barracks, near Buckingham Palace to sound 41 shots in the park at 14:00 BST. A 62-gun Salute by the Honourable Artillery Company will take place at the Tower of London at the same time.