Here’s what may have inspired Ed Sheeran’s daughter Lyra’s unusual middle name

Stephen Pond/Getty ImagesEd Sheeran’s new baby girl has attracted attention for her unusual name: Lyra Antarctica.  While most fans have speculated that the baby’s first name was inspired by Lyra Belacqua, a character one of Ed’s favorite books…

By ABC Audio on September 2, 2020

Stephen Pond/Getty ImagesEd Sheeran‘s new baby girl has attracted attention for her unusual name: Lyra Antarctica.  While most fans have speculated that the baby’s first name was inspired by Lyra Belacqua, a character one of Ed’s favorite books — Phillip Pullman‘s His Dark Materials trilogy — the inspiration for her middle name was less clear, until now.

The website Cruise Critic, which tracks the cruise ship industry, says it’s been informed that Ed and his wife Cherry Seaborn took a cruise to Antarctica on an expedition cruise ship called Le Lyrial in late December — in other words, almost exactly nine months ago.  The implication being, of course, that little Lyra was conceived during said trip.

According to Cruise Critic, the crew on Le Lyrial was all excited about having Ed on board, and said that he reportedly took part in karaoke sessions during the sailing.

Now, all this could be just idle speculation, except for the fact that a sustainable fashion company called Not Just Clothes posted a photo of Ed on its Instagram feed on December 17, 2019.  In the shot, he’s standing on the deck of a cruise ship in Antarctica, wearing one of the company’s sweaters — so he was definitely there in the right time frame.

Cruise Critic attempted to confirm Ed and Cherry’s passage on Le Lyrial by contacting Ambercrombie & Kent, the luxury tour company that charters the ship for Antarctica cruises.  They declined to comment, citing their guests’ privacy.

On Tuesday, Ed and Cherry announced that they’d welcomed little Lyra the previous week.

By Andrea Dresdale
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