Royal Wessex baby finally named

The parents had been tight-lipped over the name

Prince Edward and his wife Sophie have chosen a name for their first-born baby girl, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The name Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor refers to several family members.

Louise was delivered by emergency Caesarean section on Saturday 8 November and has been cared for at Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey.

She had recovered enough by Sunday to return home with her parents to their home in Bagshot Park.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex have decided not to style their daughter "Her Royal Highness".

With the permission of the Queen, she will instead use the title of a daughter of an earl and be referred to as Lady Louise Windsor.

Favoured name

The choice of Mountbatten-Windsor will please the Earl's father, Prince Philip, who had the surname Mountbatten before he married into the Royal Family.

Louise was favoured by Sophie and is also the name of Edward's paternal great-great-grandmother.

Alice is the name of the Earl's paternal grandmother, the Duke of Edinburgh's mother Princess Alice of Greece.

Elizabeth was chosen in memory of his maternal grandmother, the Queen Mother.

Mary is the name of the Countess's mother.

The royal baby waited 17 days to be officially named after a premature birth and a fortnight of hospital care.

It is not known whether the baby's birth and names have yet been formally registered.