Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, have named their new son George Alexander Louis, a day after the infant prince had his debut to the world when his mother emerged with him in her arms from St. Mary's Hospital in London.

Buzz over what the royal couple would name their son born Monday ended Wednesday evening local time when palace officials said the royals are "delighted to announce" their son's name, and that he will be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.

The infant prince is third in line to the British throne.

Royal names steeped in history

Six previous British kings have been named George, most recently the Queen's father, King George VI, who ruled from 1936 to 1952. George was also a favourite of British bookmakers who had been taking bets on the naming of the royal baby.

St. George, a 4th-century Christian martyr, is also the patron saint of England.

The name Louis – pronounced "Lew-ee" – was also the name of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Duke of Edinburgh's uncle and the last British Viceroy of India.

William's father, Prince Charles, was close with Mountbatten, who was assassinated by the Irish Republican Army in 1979.

Royal visitors

The royal couple was taking "private and quiet time for them to get to know their son," Buckingham Palace said, before the long-anticipated announcement of the name was made.

Hours earlier, the Queen, 87, and William's brother Prince Harry were among visitors at the Kensington Palace home of William and Kate. It marked their first get-together with the royal couple and their newborn.

The Queen made the short journey from Buckingham Palace to Kensington in a dark green Bentley.

CBC's Ann MacMillan reported from London that the Queen spent about 40 minutes with her third great-grandchild, who is behind Prince Charles and his son William in the line of succession. Prince Harry is fourth.

The Queen visited William, Kate and their son without her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who continues to recover from abdominal surgery. The Queen is also expected to leave for Balmoral in Scotland on Friday for her traditional summer break.

Although there was no early word on how the Queen's visit went, she was said to be "thrilled" at the baby's arrival, and described him as a "big boy." He was born at 4:24 p.m. local time (11:24 a.m. ET) Monday, weighing eight pounds, six ounces.

Following the birth of the new prince, Kate and William received a handful of visitors at the hospital. They included his father, Prince Charles, and the Prince of Wales's wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. The first hospital visitors were Kate's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton.

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Kate's sister Pippa Middleton reportedly met her new nephew at Kensington Palace on Tuesday evening.

After the Queen departed their home, William, on two week's paternity leave from his job as a Royal Air Force pilot, and Kate took the baby to visit her parents' home in the village of Bucklebury, west of London. They returned to Kensington Palace before the baby's name was revealed.

Following his world debut, images of the prince, his little hand peeking above a white wrap, blanketed the front pages of newspapers.

The Daily Mail offered a photo album image with the headline "Baby's First Royal Wave."

British media have wondered whether Prince George will wear a replica of the gown used by Queen Victoria's eldest daughter in 1841 and worn by many royals since for his christening. (John Stillwell/Reuters)

Kate was the first to emerge from the doors of the hospital's Lindo Wing carrying the baby, and after she handed him to William, the couple fielded a flurry of questions from reporters.

The prince slept through his public debut, though William assured the media he had "a good pair of lungs on him, that's for sure."

Smiling and waving to the crowd, the couple expressed their happiness over their first-born.

"It's very emotional, it's such a special time," Kate said. "I think any parent will know what this feeling feels like."

William added, "It's very special."

After emerging from St. Mary's Lindo Wing following her discharge Tuesday evening, Kate was wearing a baby blue, polka-dot dress, reminiscent of the seafoam green polka-dot dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, when she gave the first public viewing of William after leaving hospital.

William and Kate are expected to adopt the same hands-on parenting style as that of Diana, who was much more involved with William and Harry than the Queen was with her children.

Both Diana and Prince Charles were devoted parents who tried to spend as much time as possible with their children, albeit with the help of nannies. William and Kate have already said they plan to go without a nanny for now.

"William's childhood was normal by upper-middle-class standards — private schools, expensive holidays, McDonald's in a smart part of town as opposed to a grotty part of town," said royal historian Robert Lacey. "I think really one is going to see more of the same."

Lacey thinks Kate's middle-class background will also help ensure her son gets a broader world view than some of his royal predecessors.

The baby's maternal grandparents are self-made millionaires who run a party-planning business in Bucklebury, west of London.

Lacey noted that on Kate's side, the baby prince had "a grandfather who started off dispatching aircraft from Heathrow Airport and a grandmother who started out as a flight attendant and grew up on a council estate, who came from coal-mining stock in Durham [in northern England]. That is all funnelling through."

Historian Antonia Fraser noted on BBC radio that Kate's parents also provide an example of marital stability —"unlike so many royal marriages recently."