Royal baby name's unexpected Harry Potter link goes viral
Have the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge taken their love of Harry Potter to the next level? Not likely...
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Louise Thomas
Editor
Last week the news came out that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had chosen Louis Arthur Charles as the name of their third child, who was born on Monday April 23.
While these names are evidently steeped in historical significance, there’s also apparently a very dubious link between the royal baby and the wizarding world of Harry Potter.
On Friday, the official Twitter account for J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore site revealed the connection between Prince Louis and a certain, much-loved family of magical redheads.
“Louis Arthur Charles, you were named after three iconic Weasleys” the account tweeted, referencing a line that Harry Potter said to his son in the epilogue of the last Harry Potter book.
While most will be able to guess how the names Arthur and Charles relate to the Weasley family, only diehard fans will understand why Louis has also been included in the roster.
Arthur is the name of the patriarch of the Weasley family, while Charlie is the second eldest of the brood who spends most his time in the books working with dragons in Romania.
As for Louis, this character is never actually mentioned.
Louis is the son of Bill and Fleur Weasley, born after the events of the books take place.
Bill Weasley’s full first name is actually William, which makes the association with Prince William and his newly born son that much more hilarious.
Fans are only aware of Louis Weasley’s fictional existence due to a family tree created by Rowling following the last book’s publication.
Rowling’s great-grandfather was also called Louis, which may have provided inspiration for the character’s name.
While the notion that Prince William and Kate named their third son after Harry Potter characters is extremely improbable bordering on preposterous, the unusual connection has still delighted fans.
More than 15,000 people have liked the tweet, with many making light-hearted comments in response.
“The Weasley family approves,” one person wrote, while another commented saying: “Holy Hogwarts!”
Prince William and Kate are both fans of the Harry Potter book and film series, as they and Prince Harry officially opened the Harry Potter Warner Bros. studios to the public in 2013.
The couple were filmed having fun while ‘duelling’ with wands on set.
Kate was pregnant with Prince George at the time.
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