When Princess Beatrice was born on August 8 1988, her parents Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson picked out a suprising name for her, which Queen Elizabeth took a stand against.
Although the late Queen’s children were allowed to choose names for their own children, they were still expected to inform the monarch of their decision, and it seems in the case of Beatrice the Queen had final approval.
Originally the Duke and Duchess of York chose the name Annabel for their first-born, but Her Late Majesty disliked it as she found the name “too yuppie”.
Instead it was settled that she would be called Beatrice, a more obscure royal name, as it was also the name given to Queen Victoria’s youngest child.
Beatrice’s sister Princess Eugenie came along on March 23 1990, with the name Eugenie appropriately meaning ‘well-born’ or ‘noble’.
Beatrice’s full name is Beatrice Elizabeth Mary, with her middle names being a nod to her grandmother the Queen and her great-grandmother, with royal commentator Wesley Kerr explaining: “She’s Beatrice Elizabeth Mary, so Beatrice has the names of all English Queens since 1910.”
Eugenie’s middle names are Victoria Helena, which also pay tribute to the monarch who reigned for 64 years and whom Queen Elizabeth overtook as the longest-reigning British monarch.
The name Elizabeth is commonly used as a middle name for female royal babies, no doubt in homage to the late Queen, with Beatrice, Princess Charlotte and Lady Louise all having it as one of their names.
Little Ernest’s full name is Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank, and while George has been a royal name for centuries, it also has a touching connection to Jack’s family.
Eugenie explained on social media: “He is named after his great great great Grandfather George, his Grandpa George and my Grandpa Ronald.”
Grandpa George refers to Jack’s late father George Brooksbank, who died in November 2021, while Ronnie comes from Sarah Ferguson’s father Ronald Ferguson, Eugenie’s mum’s grandfather, who died in 2003.
