Princess Charlene of Monaco gave birth to twins on Wednesday, a boy and a girl. The girl is older by two minutes, but because of the laws of succession running through males only, he’ll be the heir to the throne, not her.
So, compared to that irritating and antiquated turn of events, the nonmatching twin names are downright admirable. Gabriella Therese Marie and Jacques Honore Ranier. Ranier, of course, for his grandfather. I think Jacques does better overall here, although Princess Gabriella, as her Wikipedia page is already labeled, has a fairly admirable moniker too. There’s nothing here I can criticize, even though I tend to rely on royals for resurrecting obscure names only they can use. Like Eugenie.
The more interesting part here is going to be how Jacques, who will apparently receive the title Marquis of Baux, and his sister, the Countess of Carlades, deal with the fact that he’s the heir and she’s just some girl he shared a womb with.
