Princess Beatrice was the first child born to Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson – and she would have had a very different name had her grandmother, the late Queen, not intervened

The late Queen put her foot down when it came to the name of her second granddaughter, Princess Beatrice.

Beatrice, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s eldest child, was born at 8:18 pm on 8 August 1988 at the Portland Hospital in London. But it was some two weeks before her name was announced. It’s thought that the reason for the delay was an intervention by the monarch. Traditionally, royals would tell the Queen about their name choice to check she was happy with it. And normally, she would give her blessing.

Queen Elizabeth II talks with Princess Beatrice of York

But according to the Sun, she was not a fan of Andrew and Sarah’s first choice – Princess Annabel, which the Queen felt was too “yuppie”. But she did come up with a solution, however, suggesting Beatrice, the name of Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter. Beatrice’s middle names, Elizabeth Mary, were chosen in honour of her grandmothers.

The royals are known for picking sentimental names for their children. Beatrice’s younger sister, Princess Eugenie, named her firstborn son August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, after his great-grandfather Prince Philip, and two of his great-grandfathers: Reverend Edward Hawke Brooksbank, and Prince Albert, whose given names included ‘Augustus’.

Eugenie’s second son, born in May 2023, was named Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank. In an Instagram post announcing his birth, the proud new mum explained the family homages behind his name. “He is named after his great great great Grandfather George, his Grandpa George and my Grandpa Ronald,” she wrote.

Jack’s father, George Brooksbank, died in 2021, and Ronnie Ferguson, the father of Sarah Ferguson and a longtime polo manager for the royal family, died in 2003. Ernest’s great-great-great grandfather was King George V, who reigned from 1910 to 1936. Beatrice, meanwhile, gave birth to her first child with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in September 2021. They named their daughter Sienna Elizabeth.

Sienna is an Italian name from the Italian city of Siena, in Tuscany and, of course, her dad Edoardo has an Italian heritage. And it also appears that the name Sienna pays tribute to Beatrice’s family too – especially her mother Sarah. Sienna is used to describe the reddish-brown earth pigment that is used within paintings.

A family friend told Hello! that Beatrice wanted to pick a name beginning with S and one which reflected the “golden rust colour of the Duchess’s hair, which the new baby shares”. They were looking for an Italian name which started with an S for Sarah, to honour the duchess, and also reflected the golden rust colour of both the duchess’s hair colour and Beatrice’s which the new baby shares,” the source said. Sienna’s middle name is Elizabeth – a direct tribute to her great-grandmother the late Queen.