Close friends and confidantes expected as Prince Louis' godparents
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to turn once again to close friends and confidantes when selecting godparents for their youngest child Prince Louis.
Those chosen for the spiritual role will be announced on the morning of Louis' baptism, which is taking place at the Chapel Royal on July 9.
William and Kate have previously opted for trusted members of their inner circle and younger family members such as Zara Tindall, rather than older royal relatives and foreign kings and queens as was the Windsor tradition.
It is likely that Louis will have five godparents, as does Charlotte, whereas George, a future king, has seven.
Zara Tindall - William's cousin
Oliver Baker - university friend of William & Kate
Hugh Grosvenor - now the Duke of Westminster
Julia Samuel - a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales
William van Cutsem - William's longstanding family friend
Emilia Jardine-Paterson - Marlborough College school friend of Kate's
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton - the duke and duchess's former private secretary
George's seven godparents include Julia Samuel - a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales, the couple's former private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton and William's cousin Zara, while Charlotte's five included Kate's school friend Sophie Carter and Laura Fellowes - the daughter of one of Diana's sisters.
- Here's a look at some of the possible contenders for Louis:
According to bookmakers Ladbrokes, the duke's soon-to-be former private secretary, Miguel Head, is a front runner with odds of 2/1.
William's top aide and ex-press secretary Mr Head has been a trusted member of the KP team.
He is leaving his post as private secretary in July, but a warm tribute was issued when his departure was announced.
William was described as feeling "incredibly lucky to have benefited from Mr Head's advice and support over the last decade".
Mr Head was described as a "valued adviser during an important period in His Royal Highness's life".
William's childhood nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke, now Tiggy Pettifer, is at 2/1, while Kate's former private secretary Rebecca Priestley is 3/1.
The Duchess of Cornwall's daughter Laura Lopes - William's stepsister - who has twin boys and a daughter Eliza who was one of William and Kate's bridesmaids, has odds of 4/1.
William and Kate may ask another of the van Cutsem brothers who are old family friends of the duke.
They selected William van Cutsem for George and may pick one of his siblings - Hugh, Edward or Nicholas - or perhaps Hugh's wife Rose van Cutsem this time.
Hugh van Cutsem is set at odds of 5/1.
William is godfather to Hugh and Rose's daughter Grace, who was a bridesmaid at the royal wedding and almost stole the show on the balcony after covering her ears during the flypast while the newlyweds kissed.
Kate's Marlborough College friends include Catriona "Trini" Foyle, Alice Avenel (nee St John Webster), Alicia Stoddart (nee Fox-Pitt) and Hannah Carter (nee Gillingham).
Others in the couple's social circle include jockey Sam Waley-Cohen and his wife Bella; William's school friend Tom Sutton and his wife Harriet; heir to Viscount Allendale, Wentworth "Wenty" Beaumont and his wife Vanessa; Lady Iona Hewitt; and Lady Natasha Rufus Isaacs, an old friend of Kate's who runs the fashion label Beulah London.
William and Kate's former uni flatmates are Fergus Boyd and Olivia Bleasdale who also attended their 2011 wedding.
From the royal side, William's cousin Peter Phillips could be a safe bet, with odds of 8/1, while Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are both at 7/1.
Other suggestions include Sir David Manning - the former ambassador to Washington who now acts as the couple's foreign affairs adviser.
There is likely to be some link to William's late mother Diana - perhaps even one of the princess's sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, or one of William's cousins via the Spencer family line.
If William and Kate wanted to fully welcome the Duchess of Sussex into the fold, what better gesture than to make her their new baby's godmother?
The move would delight the Duke of Sussex and secure Meghan's long-term standing within the royal family.
Meghan - whose odds of being selected according to the bookmakers are 14/1 - would be on hand at William and Kate's home Kensington Palace for godmotherly duties, living at a cottage with Harry at the royal residence.
But have the couple known the American former actress for long enough to assign her with the responsibility?
Laura Fellowes - the daughter of one of Diana, Princess of Wales's sisters
Sophie Carter - Kate's friend
James Meade - William and Kate's friend
Adam Middleton - Kate's cousin
Thomas van Straubenzee - William's close friend
The duke's cousin Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Wessex, is only 14 years old, but selecting Louise as a godparent would delight the Queen.
The youngster was also one of William and Kate's bridesmaids and William himself was just 16 when he became godfather to Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark in 1998.
(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Laura Elston, Press Association Court Reporter');ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '609ae604-d67d-4c0d-9b39-751de73ecc29');ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:news,paservice:news:uk');ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', null);ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Close friends and confidantes expected as Prince Louis\u2019 godparents'});
