King Charles Reportedly Wanted Princes Harry and William to Have Completely Different Names

What's in a name? Well, if King Charles got his way, there'd be a little more sentiment in the names of his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. According to Battle of Brothers, a new book by royal historian Robert Lacey, Charles and Diana butted heads over the names of their two sons. The Mirror reports that if Charles had gotten his way instead of Diana's picks coming out on top, we'd have a Prince Arthur instead of William and Prince Albert (another one) instead of Prince Harry.

When William was born in June of 1982, it took an entire week for Charles and Diana to share his name with the world, Marie Claire notes. According to the Mirror, Charles was dead set on naming his first-born son Arthur, but Diana would go on to suggest “the more robust name” William, perhaps a nod to William the Conqueror. William's full name ended up being William Arthur Philip Louis, with Philip being an homage to Prince Philip and Louis being a reference to Lord Louis Mountbatten, one of Charles's mentors.

Lacey's book also notes that when Harry was born, Charles wanted to name him Albert as a nod to King George VI's real name. And even though we all call Harry by his nickname, his full name ended up being Henry Charles Albert David. Princess Diana seems to have won out again choosing her second son's name. As for King Charles, anyone tuning into his coronation next month is sure to hear his full name once or twice: Charles Philip Arthur George.