Archie one of the biggest surprises in royal betting history, say bookmakers

Katy Clifton8 May 2019

Bookmakers have dubbed the naming of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's baby boy Archie "one of the biggest surprises in royal betting history".

Odds of 100/1 were offered on the name and just £100 was staked from 60 bets on Archie, according to Ladbrokes.

Coral said the name Archie, which is of German origin and means "truly brave", drew just a handful of punters.

Both bookmakers considered Archie to be a huge outsider.

The Duchess holds baby Archie (Chris Allerton/SussexRoyal )
Chris Allerton/SussexRoyal

Alex Apati, from Ladbrokes, estimated that more than £1 million will be won on all royal baby markets.

Before the big reveal, Alexander had been the 4/1 favourite with Coral, closely followed by Spencer, Arthur and James.

A spokesman from Coral said: "We only took a handful of bets on Archie so this has to go down as one of the biggest surprises in royal betting history, as it was a 100/1 outsider before the name was revealed.

"It would be no surprise if the royal couple revealed at some point next year that little Archie will be having a brother or sister."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are odds-on at 4-5 to announce a second child in 2020.

The couple broke with royal convention by making a personal decision not to use a title for their baby boy.

(Dominic Lipinski/PA )
PA

He will simply be known as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

As the first born son of a duke, Archie could have become Earl of Dumbarton - one of Harry's subsidiary titles - or have been Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

A source said: "They have chosen not to use a courtesy title."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
PA

The decision fits in with Harry and Meghan's desire to give their son as normal a life as possible despite his royal heritage.

Harry, who has admitted he once "wanted out" of the royal family, has spoken in the past of how he was always more comfortable being Captain Wales in the Army than being Prince Harry.

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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