Over the past few weeks, more than 800 Globe readers have voiced their predictions on Will and Kate's royal baby. Here are the results, and a look at just how accurate they were:
- Sex: The majority of readers (74%) were surprised by the gender -- they thought the royal baby would be a princess.
- Eye colour: Prince William’s baby blues (56%) triumphed over Kate’s unique hazel eyes (24%). It's yet to be determined exactly what colour eyes the baby has.
- Weight: The average guess was 7lbs, 3 oz., which is the average size of a British baby. In reality, the baby weighed in at a whopping 8lbs, 6 oz.
- Date: July 15, two days past Kate’s rumoured due date, was the most common answer. The baby was rumoured to be overdue, arriving on July 22.
- Time: Most readers (40%) predicted Kate would give birth in the morning, between 5 a.m. and noon local time. While the Duchess of Cambridge arrived at the hospital in the early stages of labour shortly before 6 a.m., the baby wasn't born until 4:24 p.m.
- Location of delivery: The bulk of readers chose a hospital birth (85%) over the royal Buckingham Palace tradition. Ding ding! They were correct.
- Announcement of birth: It was a toss-up between the British press (41%), and a 41-gun salute (40%), while others expect the news to break on their Twitter feeds (19%). In fact, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge succeeded in keeping the baby's birth a secret for about four hours, before the news was announced via an official press release.
George and Alexander (two of the Prince of Cambridge's three names) landed among the top 10 names most popular among readers for the royal baby. George was the clear favourite of readers for a prince.
Top 10 boy names, as voted by readers:
- George
- Phillip
- James
- Edward
- Henry
- Alexander
- Charles
- William
- John
- Arthur
Top 10 girl names, as voted by readers:
- Victoria
- Alexandra
- Elizabeth
- Diana
- Charlotte
- Mary
- Margaret
- Alexandria
- Frances
- Caroline