royal baby princess
The new royal princess has been visited by various members of the family Reuters

Clarence House has announced the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's new baby daughter is called Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.

The baby will be known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge.

The announcement comes an hour after the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery rode out in a procession from Wellington Barracks, near Buckingham Palace, to fire 41 shots in Hyde Park at 2pm. Salutes were also fired at the Tower of London.

The choice was one of two favourites with the bookies along with Alice. Victoria, Elizabeth and Olivia were also among the popular choices.

The Duke and Duchess were reportedly holding off on making the announcement to ensure the Queen was the first to know.

Prince William, who is close to his grandmother, wanted to bestow her the honour of knowing the name of her fifth great-grandchild before informing the public.

Charlotte, the female form of the name Charles, is a tribute to her grandfather the Prince of Wales and also the middle name of Kate's sister, Pippa. In history, Queen Charlotte was the the wife of George III, who reigned from 1760 to 1820.

Elizabeth and Diana reference her great-grandmother and grandmother respectively.

The choice of name had some bookies breathing a sigh of relief Monday, with William Hill's favourite name Alice losing out to Charlotte, their second favourite at 3/1.

A total of 5,096 punters correctly predicted the name, said spokesman Rupert Adams, meaning that William Hill would pay out a total of just over £100,000.

One woman from Barnes has bagged £1,400 after placing £400 on Charlotte at odds of 5/2 on Saturday night.

"Charlotte was a late gamble but we have dodged a bullet as Alice, Victoria and Elizabeth would have been awful lot worse," he said.

Kate Middleton and William will leave Kensington Palace on 4 May to start a new life in Norfolk and introduce their new addition to Her Majesty and Prince Philip, who are currently residing at Wood Farm.