Here's Why You Probably Won't See Prince Louis At The Royal Wedding, In Case You Were Taking Bets

With the birth over and the name chosen, people who bet on the royals have moved on to the latest big question: Will Prince Louis attend the royal wedding? Prince William and Kate Middleton welcomed the newest prince on April 23, and showed the baby off on the steps of St. Mary’s Hospital a few hours later. It was the first glimpse the world got of a precious little sleeping face, cradled in the Duchess of Cambridge's arms.

Little Louis will be just 1 month old when his uncle, Prince Harry, weds Meghan Markle on May 19. Consensus seems to be that there is little chance of Louis appearing at the wedding, which would likely be his public debut. That doesn’t mean he won’t be there at all, according to Hello! Magazine, who asked their royal correspondent Emily Nash to weigh in.

“William and Kate will both be busy on the wedding day, as he carries out his best man duties and she overseas George and Charlotte’s involvement in the ceremony. I would expect [the nannies] to be on hand to look after Prince Louis….As he will be less than a month old, I’m sure Kate will want him nearby, even if we don’t see him at the service,” Nash said.

There’s a chance that Prince William and Middleton will want to be solely focused on the day, however, and will choose to leave Prince Louis at home altogether. A royal expert spoke to British news outlet The Daily Express and said he can’t imagine the couple bringing their newborn. “I very strongly doubt the royal baby will be at the royal wedding. Rumors to this effect are mischievous, that his nanny could bring her and so forth. Absolutely nothing must detract from the focus on the happy couple and this would,” he reportedly told the publication.

He also commented that he believes the official photographs of the baby, which are usually released at about 1 month old, will be postponed until after the wedding, according to The Daily Express. Penny Juror, the author of a book on Prince Harry also pointed out to Cosmopolitan that if the newborn cried and had to be taken out of the ceremony that would become quite the news story.

Town & Country brought up a different reason why Prince Louis might be spending the royal wedding in his royal crib: he’s too young. A pediatrician from New York City they spoke with cautioned that one month is simply too young to expose a baby to that kind of crowd. “In truth a newborn baby could go on a plane or be out in public even the day after they’re born. We prefer though, that they not for the first two months because the worry is they’re going to get sick,” Dr. Robin Jacobson told the publication. “Going to a wedding probably wouldn’t be the greatest thing to do when a baby is just born.”

Even without Prince Louis in attendance, there are sure to be other children in the chapel during the royal wedding though. Price George and Princess Charlotte are expected to reprise their roles from Pippa Middleton’s wedding as a pageboy and bridesmaid (aka flower girl), according to Harper’s Bazaar. Prince George stole the show for a few moments following the ceremony when he played with Pippa’s dress and received some strong words from his mother. He left the church in tears but quickly rebounded, according to Harper’s Bazaar.

And who could forget the little bridesmaid who covered her ears and frowned during Prince William and Middleton's kiss on the balcony?

Whether a child draws the spotlight for a few moments during this big event remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure — when the ceremony is over, there will be a new royal couple and people will probably start placing their bets on when they'll have little royals of their own.

Check out Romper's new video series, Bearing The Motherload, where disagreeing parents from different sides of an issue sit down with a mediator and talk about how to support (and not judge) each other’s parenting perspectives. New episodes air Mondays on Facebook.