Royal Predictions: The Monégasque Royal Twins

Prince Albert II of Monaco has said the babies are due "before Christmas" and he and Princess Charlene are predicting an early birth "by at least two weeks".

Names.
Birthday.
Godparents.

Keep in mind, these are just predictions...I know nothing of fact here. I am predicting these things based on what I have seen done by the Monégasque Royals in the past and what I know of their personalities.

A lot of things to predict here, so I'm going to get right into it!

Names:

For girls:

Marie Elisabeth Grace
  • Marie Elisabeth: for aunt Princess Stephanie Marie Elisabeth, also nods to greatx1 grandmother Marie Juliette and 1st cousin 1x removed Baroness Elisabeth Anne.
  • Grace: For her paternal grandmother

Louise Marguerite Lynette

  • Louise: for her aunt Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite and a nod to her ancestress  Louise Hipyolte who reigned in 1731
  • Marguerite: For her greatx1 grandmother Margaret Kelly.
  • Lynette: For her grandmother, Lynette Wittstock



BUT, I have a weird suspicion that "Charlene" may be one of the names if one of them is a girl....after all Charlene's middle name is after her mother Charlene Lynette. They may try to continue that tradition of the Wittstock family.

For Boys:

Charles Albert Rainier Michael:
  • Charles: For Charles III, his greatx3 grandfather.
  • Albert: For Albert I (his greatx2 grandfather) and his father
  • Rainier: For Rainier III, his grandfather
  • Michael: For his maternal grandfather (pronounced the French way, rather than the English way)
Jean Pierre Rainier Michael

  • Jean: French form of John, a nod to the Kelly side
  • Pierre: for Prince Pierre, the child's paternal great grandfather 
  • Rainier: For Rainier III, his grandfather
  • Michael: For his maternal grandfather (pronounced the French way, rather than the English way)
I have a odd suspicion, once again, here that "Albert" will also be a contender in the name, as it seems to be Charlene's family's tradition to have a parent name as a middle name. For example, Charlene is Charlene Lynette, and her youngest brother is Sean Michael.

Birthday:

Loosely:
ANY TIME NOW. REALLY, Charlene, Haven't you been pregnant long enough already??!?! (I'm sure she thinks so! haha. So do we! :))

But in all seriousness, Prince Albert has stated that he believes they will be here earlier than predicted, and that they are due before Christmas....

So any day now. Literally. I'm predicting sometime next week, 15-19 December. I hope they won't "rain on Raphael's parade" by being born the same day, but that would be cool too (17 December).

Godparents:

It seems to be Grimaldi tradition for there to be two godparents-one picked by the mother, the other by the father. For example:

Andrea, Pierre and Charlotte Casiraghi all have two godparents-either an aunt or uncle and a friend of their parents.

Andrea's are:
  • Princess Stephanie  (maternal aunt)
  • Marco Casiraghi (paternal uncle)


Charlotte's are:
  • Albina de Boisrouvray (mother's BFF)
  • Massimo Bianchi (paternal uncle by way marriage, he's married to her aunt Rosalba)


Pierre's are:
  • Prince Albert (maternal uncle)
  • Laura Casiraghi (paternal aunt by way of marriage, she was Pierre's uncle Daniele's wife, and died in 2009)


Any of the following are potentially possible:

  • Princess Stephanie of Monaco (paternal aunt)
  • Princess Caroline of Monaco (paternal aunt)
  • Gareth Wittstock (maternal uncle)
  • Rosin Gavin (girlfriend of Charlene's brother Gareth, and mother of her niece, Kia Rose)
  • Sean Wittstock (maternal uncle)
  • Chantell Wittstock (maternal aunt, mother of Charlene's nephew, and wife of Sean)
  • Donatella Knecht de Massy (maid of honor at their wedding and a second cousin in law of Prince Albert)
  • Chris LeVine (best man of Prince Albert, who is also his cousin)
  • Charlotte Casiraghi (their niece, who also picked both of them as godparents to her son)
  • Gad Elmaleh (their niece's boyfriend, and father of their godson)
I'd be really surprised to see their big sister, Jazmin Grace, as a godmother. I doubt it since Albert keeps her at arm's length, but anything is possible. 

This one is kinda unpredictable, but if I HAD to pick two for each twin, I would say the top contenders are (in no particular order):
  • Princess Stephanie of Monaco (maternal aunt, is really close with Albert)
  • Chris LeVine (paternal 1st cousin 1x removed, is really close with both)
  • Gareth Wittstock (maternal uncle)
  • Rosin Gavin (girlfriend of Charlene's brother Gareth, and mother of her niece, Kia Rose)
  • Sean Wittstock (maternal uncle)
  • Chantell Wittstock (maternal aunt, mother of Charlene's nephew, and wife of Sean)
UPDATE 10 DECEMBER 2014:

THEY ARE HERE! {Source}

Birthday:
December 10, 2014 at approximately 17H04 Monaco (baby #1) and 17H06 (baby #2)

  • Princess Gabriella Thérèse Marie of Monaco, The Countess of Carladès (at 17h04 Monaco time)
  • Prince Jacques Honoré Rainier, Hereditary Prince of Monaco, Marquis de Baux (at 17H06 Monaco Time)
Prince Jacques is the heir apparent to the throne. Once he reigns, he will reign as Prince Jacques II.

The names I suspect come from as follows:


  • Jacques: for Jacques I who reigned from 1731-1733. Jacques I was known in Monaco as the husband and regent for Louise Hipyolte (who has been the only reigning princess of Monaco), and was Louise's cousin (I think.). During Jaques I's reign, he neglected the affairs of the estate and later abdicated for their son, Honoré the year after Louise's death.
  • Honoré: For the son of Jacques. Honoré's reign wasn't much better than his father's! 
  • Rainier: For the grandfather he will never meet, obviously.



  • Gabriella: Likely a name they liked. It could also be somehow linked to Charlene's family. Her mother's family is fairly large in size, so it's hard to tell for sure (her mother has like 5 siblings, I believe)
  • Thérèse: Likely a name they liked. It could also be somehow linked to Charlene's family. Her mother's family is fairly large in size, so it's hard to tell for sure (her mother has like 5 siblings, I believe)
  • Marie: Popular Grimaldi name...it was the first name of Gabriella's great-great Grandmother, Marie Juliette Louvet, it is the second names for her cousins Charlotte Marie and Camille Marie, and her aunt's second name, Princess Stephanie Marie....so that's likely where THAT comes from.
Now godparents....I stand by my previous statement that the following are top contenders:

  • Princess Stephanie of Monaco (maternal aunt, is really close with Albert)
  • Chris LeVine (paternal 1st cousin 1x removed, is really close with both)
  • Gareth Wittstock (maternal uncle)
  • Rosin Gavin (girlfriend of Charlene's brother Gareth, and mother of her niece, Kia Rose)
  • Sean Wittstock (maternal uncle)
  • Chantell Wittstock (maternal aunt, mother of Charlene's nephew, and wife of Sean)
But, in addition to them any of these are also possible: 
  • Princess Caroline of Monaco (paternal aunt)
  • Donatella Knecht de Massy (maid of honor at their wedding and a second cousin in law of Prince Albert)
  • Charlotte Casiraghi (their niece, who also picked both of them as godparents to her son)
  • Gad Elmaleh (their niece's boyfriend, and father of their godson)



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