Prince Harry and wife Meghan’s baby will be a girl called Diana born at home early next month — or so say the odds being offered by British bookmakers.
As royal watchers await the couple’s first baby, punters are having a flutter on its gender, whether it will have Prince Harry’s ginger hair, when it will be born, and, of course, the name.
It should be an even chance, but betting firms are convinced the baby, who will be seventh in line to the throne, will be a girl.
Bookmakers William Hill priced the odds on a girl as low as 2/5, which means betting £5 to win £2 implying a five in seven chance of it being the correct outcome. But punters have still been piling on big money, forcing the chain to suspend taking bets on April 9.
“In a normal market, that means people know,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams, adding that the only other possibility was that gamblers were simply following other people’s bets, assuming the secret was out. “I would be astonished if it's not a girl,” he said. The odds on a red-haired baby are 3/1.
The name of Prince Harry’s mother, killed in a 1997 car crash, has captivated punters. “Diana is the red-hot favourite. I don’t understand it at all. I wouldn’t want to be reminded about it every morning. Sixty percent of all name bets are on Diana,” said Mr. Adams.
Bookmakers Paddy Power have Diana at 3/1, Grace 7/1, Alice 10/1, Isabella 12/1, Victoria and Alexandrina at 14/1 and Elizabeth at 20/1. Boys’ names start with Arthur at 12/1, Charles 14/1, James and Edward at 16/1, Alexander 20/1 and Jacob and Francis at 25/1.
