Flashback Friday: The Royal Baby Fever of 1964

In February 1964, Britain was hit with royal baby fever – there were four due within the coming months.

Queen Elizabeth was expecting her fourth child (Prince Edward, born March 10); Princess Margaret her second (Lady Sarah, born May 1); the Duchess of Kent was also pregnant for the second time (Lady Helen, born April 28); while Princess Alexandra of Kent was a newcomer to the motherhood group, expecting her first child (James Ogilvy, born February 29).

The below photograph shows a bookie taking bets on the names and sexes of the four pending arrivals. If you look closely at the most popular names available for betting, Edward is the only one of the four names eventually used that appears near the top of the lists, James and Helen appear further down (Sarah doesn’t even appear).

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Pregnancy, Princess Alexandra Lady Ogilvy, Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon, The Duchess of Kent.