The legendary warrior Queen Boudica of the Iceni (who lived in present-day East Anglia) led Britons to revolt against the Roman Empire in the first century A.D., after her husband King Prasutagus (a Roman ally) had died and lawless Roman troops from the IX Legion Hispanica attacked her people, and raped and enslaved their two daughters. When Boudica protested to the local Roman procurator Catus Decianus, he had her publicly flogged.

In vengeance, Boudica led the Iceni to war with Rome. She and her troops set upon the offending IX Legion as it traveled south, and in the resultant Battle of Colchester, she freed her daughters and slaughtered every Roman soldier to a man, before capturing and destroying the Roman provincial capital of Londinium, the site of present-day London. Triumphant, she allegedly had Catus Decianus castrated alive and then crucified according to Roman law, only with his own scrotum shoved in his mouth. An estimated 60-80,000 Romans eventually lost their lives to Boudica's rebellion. Rome re-established its authority in Britain only upon her death in A.D. 60 or 61.

(Nearly forgotten, save for the Roman texts which chronicled her exploits, Boudica's legend was resurrected by Queen Victoria, and a bronze statue of her was commissioned by Victoria's husband Prince Albert. Completed in 1905, "Boadicea" -- the Latin name for Boudica -- sits today along the Thames River in London at Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament, ironically standing guard over the very city she had once razed to the ground.)

As a monarch who ruled with near-absolute authority, Queen Elizabeth I vanquished the Spanish Armada in 1588 and established England as a major power on the European stage. And because she had no direct descendants, the crown passed to her cousin James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England, uniting these intensely nationalistic and rival countries under one ruler for the first time.

The long and storied reign of Queen Victoria (1838-1901) was marked by huge territorial expansions across the globe, a so-called "Golden Age" of imperialism which established the British Empire as arguably the first true superpower of modern world history.

Conversely, the current Queen Elizabeth II has presided over the formal dissolution of that empire, and the establishment of the British Commonwealth in its place, while London had maintained its position as a true financial center of the world economy.

My niece (who is like my daughter) that I wrote about in med school that lived with me for 3+ years - her little girl is the closest I'll get to grandma feelings, at least until my step-daughter has a baby. She tugged my heart so much (still does) that it made me regret not having children.

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London in the early stages of labour.

Twitter and highfalutin snooty don't mix.

The Queen's name is "Elizabeth Alexandra Mary," so maybe if it's a girl, she won't need 4 names...

I didn't realize that Elizabeth's mother was also Elizabeth, full name "Elizabeth Angela Marguerite."

Now, of course, there was a swift and official denial because it's in pretty bad taste to float around what he wants to be called as soon as his mother dies. And of course, if he really did discuss this, it shouldn't have left the palace walls.

But the peculiar British royal tradition of switching between names may complicate matters.

Prince Charles is expected to be known as King George VII when he ascends to the throne; King George VI was actually christened Albert; and his brother, Edward VIII, who became Duke of Windsor after his 1936 abdication, was known as David by family and friends.

History has also knocked several male names out of the equation: Edward is unlikely, given that scandalous abdication so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, and the various King Richards, Charleses and Johns are viewed as cruel, tyrannical or just downright unpopular.

"Charles, at 10/1, and John, at 8/1, are very unlikely," Roberts wrote. "Charles is already taken as the name of Prince William's father, and John was one of the worst kings in British history." King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta by his nobles in 1215; he was portrayed as the key villain in "Robin Hood."

British betting on how Kate will deliver "There's no way they would pick Edward as a first name," insists Williams. "And you can't have Henry, after Henry VIII (though of course if Harry came to the throne he would be Henry). My bet is on George Philip William Edward."

In recent years, there has been a move away from classic "regal" names by those on lower branches of the royal family tree.