NEED TO KNOW
Princess Beatrice turns 37 on Aug. 8, sparking renewed interest in the name she almost had
Queen Elizabeth reportedly disliked the original name chosen for Princess Beatrice and stepped in
Princess Beatrice’s name carries sentimental ties deep within the royal family history
Queen Elizabeth shared a special bond with Princess Beatrice – but the monarch reportedly vetoed her granddaughter’s original name.
Princess Beatrice was born to Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson on Aug. 8, 1988, making Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip grandparents for the fifth time. Beatrice was the first child for the Duke and Duchess of York, but the original name the couple chose for their daughter reportedly didn’t suit the Queen.
At the time, The Sun reported that Andrew and Fergie wanted to name their baby girl Annabel. According to The Bump, Annabel is a moniker of Latin origin meaning “lovable” and a choice that’s popular in Scotland.
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Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew leave Portland hospital with their daughter Princess Beatrice on Aug. 12, 1988.
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However, the outlet reported that Andrew’s mother, Queen Elizabeth, thought the name was “too yuppie” and the baby went unnamed for 11 days — an unusual length of time for a royal child!
The Queen also allegedly wasn’t keen on Victoria, which was floated as a second option. It later became the first middle name for the Duke and Duchess of York’s second daughter, Princess Eugenie
In her signature straightforward nature, the Sun said that Queen Elizabeth was the one who pitched Beatrice as a name for the baby during the royal family’s annual summer gathering at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
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Princess Beatrice and Queen Elizabeth at Royal Ascot on Oct. 20, 2012.
Beatrice proved to be the winner, with the Duke and Duchess of York giving their daughter another name of Latin origin which means “voyager (through life)” and “blessed,” according to The Bump.
Bookies were shocked by the pick, and the Daily Mail reported that “not a single bet was placed on the name Beatrice at two of the largest bookmakers at the time.”
Beatrice also had sentimental roots on the royal family tree, as the youngest of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s nine children, was a daughter named Princess Beatrice.
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Princess Beatrice and Queen Elizabeth at Royal Ascot on June 18, 2015.
Prince Andrew and Fergie gave their daughter the full name of Beatrice Elizabeth Mary, with her middle names interpreted as a tribute to both Queen Elizabeth, whose second middle name is Mary in an homage to her own grandmother, and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who the late sovereign was named after.
Princess Beatrice and the Queen were known to be close, and Beatrice even had the honor of wearing the same heirloom tiara for her wedding in July 2020 that the future Queen Elizabeth did when she wed Prince Philip in 1947.
Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi celebrated their wedding with their closest family.
📷 The happy couple are pictured with Her Majesty The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. Photograph by Benjamin Wheeler. pic.twitter.com/Ztw1Kk0eRy
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 18, 2020
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“The Queen saved this grand tiara specifically for Beatrice. It was always reserved for her as they are exceptionally close,” a source told PEOPLE of the Queen Mary diamond fringe tiara, describing it as “arguably the most sentimental [piece] lent from the Queen yet.”
Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi went on to welcome two daughters, Sienna, 3, and Athena, 6 months, giving both girls the middle name of Elizabeth.
Read the original article on People
