UK Edition
Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter welcome baby number two, named for a poet and a king
Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter have become parents for the second time, it has been claimed, with the arrival of a second son: Hal Auden Cumberbatch.
The Mail On Sunday reported the new baby arrived on March 3 at the private Portland Hospital in London.
He appears to be named after the poet, WH Auden, with Hal the name made famous by Shakespeare as a nickname for the young Henry V.
A spokesman for the couple has not yet responded to a request for confirmation of their happy news.
The new baby will be a younger brother to Christopher Carlton, born in 2015 and known as Kit.
The couple made public the news they were expecting a second child in October, after appearing on the red carpet in Los Angeles to promote the actor's film, Dr Strange, where fans noticed what appeared to be a baby bump under Ms Hunter's black ball gown.
A spokesman said then: "Everyone is absolutely thrilled."
The couple, who married on Valentine's Day in 2015 and last year applied to extend their north London home.
Cumberbatch has spoken regularly about his pride about becoming a father, saying: "Having a baby – it's massive.
"And on a very unexpected level. Suddenly I understood my parents much more proudly than I ever had before."
He told the Graham Norton show last year: “I’ve become a father and a husband, and in the right order — just.
“I might go for a (Cumber) batch of boys.”