Princess Beatrice celebrates her 37th birthday today, though her parents Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson reportedly had a completely different name in mind for their eldest daughter.
Following Royal tradition, the Duke and Duchess of York apparently discussed their chosen name with the late Queen Elizabeth during an “informal chat”, hoping to secure the late monarch’s approval.
However, when Andrew and Fergie revealed their preferred choice for the young princess, Her Majesty is said to have quickly intervened with an alternative suggestion.
Born on August 8, 1988, the Royal couple had originally intended to christen their first daughter Princess Annabel, the Mirror reports.
Fergie was reportedly determined to use this name for her firstborn child, but the late Queen allegedly considered the name “too yuppie” for a member of the Royal family.
Despite the Queen’s objection to the name, she swiftly proposed the name Beatrice instead, thought to have drawn inspiration from Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, and history was made.
Beatrice’s complete name is Beatrice Elizabeth Mary, with her middle names honouring both her grandmother and great-grandmother.
The royals are renowned for selecting meaningful names for their offspring.
Her younger sister, Princess Eugenie, chose August and incorporated Philip as the middle name, honouring her late grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh. Princess Beatrice passed on her middle name, and the late Queen’s legacy, to her own daughter, Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, after giving birth in 2021.
Beatrice’s birthday comes just weeks after she celebrated her fifth wedding anniversary with Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, marking five years since she underwent another Royal name change.
When the couple got hitched in a pared-down ceremony in Windsor in 2020, Princess Beatrice inherited another Royal title from her husband’s family.
Thanks to Edo’s status as a count, Beatrice became a countess on their wedding day. This also means that their daughters Sienna, who turns four in September, and Athena, born in January, hold the title of nobile donna.
Their understated wedding was attended by just 20 guests, after their original plans were scrapped and downsized due to the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions at the time.
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