Princess Beatrice’s Daughter Might Get a Royal Title After All

Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi just welcomed a baby daughter (opens in new tab) on September 18, and while we don’t know the baby’s name yet, we do know that she could very well get a royal title—something her sister Princess Eugenie’s son won’t have. But it might not be for the reason you’d expect.

Who gets a royal title and who doesn’t is a constant source of drama in the royal family. Remember the hullabaloo when it turned out Prince Harry and Meghan’s son Archie probably wouldn’t get one (opens in new tab)? Like many things in the monarchy, titles are part of an old (outdated, dare we say?) tradition that is becoming less and less relevant as we get further away from actual monarchical rule. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t cause a lot of chatter when someone is bestowed with one! Normally, according to People (opens in new tab), the Queen gives a royal couple titles on their wedding day, though because of the shrinking size of the modern royal family, she did not give one to either Beatrice or Eugenie on either of their wedding days.

So why, then, if Princess Eugenie’s son is title-less, would Princess Beatrice’s baby daughter get the honor? Well, it has nothing to do with dear old England, to start: It’s actually because of the baby’s father.

When Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who is descended from Italian aristocracy, in January 2020, she became not just a member of the British royal family, but an Italian “Nobile Donna”—noblewoman—as well. Her Italian title is Contessa, per People (opens in new tab), which is delightfully old school-sounding. As the eldest son, Edoardo stands to inherit the family’s villa in northern Italy from his father, Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi, one day. And his daughter with Beatrice will, if the family wants to keep the tradition going, inherit a title too: She’ll be a contessa and a nobile donna.

Beatrice and Edo, as he is affectionately called, also share a son Wolfie, who is Edo’s child from his relationship with ex-fiance Dara Huang. The new, as-yet-unnamed baby girl is the first daughter for the couple. Mazel Tov!