Queen Elizabeth Hated Princess Beatrice’s Original Name and Forced Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson to Change It

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 22 January 2024

There has been a lot of drama surrounding Queen Elizabeth and names lately, but no, we’re not here to talk about the present. Let’s go back to 1988, shall we? That’s when Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, the Duke and Duchess of York, welcomed their firstborn, Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary, that August 8. (Yes, her birthday is 8/8/88. Cool, huh?) Andrew and Fergie originally had a name picked out for their daughter—but, The Daily Express reports, the Queen hated it and made them change it. Alright then!

See, in the world that is the royals, one is allowed to choose their child’s name, but one has to run said choice by the monarch. Kind of like when a royal wants to get married—they get to choose their potential future spouse, but they have to get the sovereign’s permission. In Andrew and Fergie’s case, their hearts were set on “Annabel.” But, The Daily Express writes, “Her late Majesty disliked it as she found the name ‘too yuppie.’” (No offense to all the Annabels out there.)

Instead, it was decided that Beatrice would be named Beatrice, “a more obscure royal name, as it was also the name given to Queen Victoria’s youngest child,” The Daily Express reports.

Beatrice’s middle names are a nod to her grandmother (Elizabeth) and her great-great-grandmother (Queen Mary, wife of King George V). “She’s Beatrice Elizabeth Mary, so Beatrice has the names of all English queens since 1910,” royal commentator Wesley Kerr said. (Queen Elizabeth’s mother’s name was also Elizabeth.)

As one can surmise, Elizabeth is a common middle name for many royals, as it pays homage to the family’s former matriarch. In addition to Beatrice, Princess Charlotte (the daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales) carries it as one of her middle names, as does Lady Louise, the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

Beatrice continued the “Elizabeth” tradition with her own daughter, naming her Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi upon her birth in September 2021.

Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and Queen Elizabeth

Beatrice’s younger sister Princess Eugenie was born on March 23, 1990, her first name meaning “well-born” or “noble.” (Well, not wrong.) Eugenie’s middle names are Victoria and Helena, which also pay tribute to Queen Victoria, who reigned for 64 years and whom Queen Elizabeth overtook as the longest-reigning British monarch in history.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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