Meghan Markle baby: Allegra surges in bookmakers' list of royal names

The name was reportedly a favourite of Princess Diana

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may name their unborn child Allegra

As royal fans continue to wait for news regarding the birth of the newest royal baby, a new name has emerged as a possible contender.

According to bookmakers, if the baby is a girl, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may choose to name her “Allegra”.

The Italian name has recently seen an influx in bets, according to Ladbrokes, which has revealed Allegra is now the sixth most-likely name.

In the last 24 hours alone, the odds of the newest royal being named Allegra have gone from 100/1 to just 12/1.

The reason behind the name is sentimental, as the Daily Mail reports it was a favourite of Princess Diana’s, who’d wanted to name her own child Allegra if she’d given birth to a girl.

According to 2004 reports, Princess Diana had heard the name and thought it was “beautiful”.

Despite the moniker’s rising popularity, the name Diana is still a favourite for those betting on the name of the new baby, with the odds 6/1 the couple will choose to name their child after Prince Harry’s late mother.

If the baby is a boy, many people believe it will be named Arthur, a name used throughout the royal family tree.

The couple could also opt for Albert, the most popular name for male members of the royal family.

Curiosity over the future royal’s name reached a peak after it was suggested that the royal family’s website had accidentally given away the unborn child’s name.

By typing names Prince Arthur, Prince James or Prince Alexander in the URL of the Buckingham Palace website, visitors are brought to the main page.

However, if you try and access pages on the website for other rumoured names using the same format, such as Diana, it says "Page not found".

But, according to a palace spokesperson, it is merely a matter of improved user experience.

“A large number of search term redirects were set up some time ago on royal.uk. This was in order to improve user experience,” a spokesperson told Yahoo.

"For guidance you will note that other names preceded by 'prince' or 'princess' produce the same result."