The title Queen Elizabeth turned down before suggesting “Beatrice”
Princess Beatrice turned 37 on August 8, but her name could have been something quite different if not for Queen Elizabeth’s intervention.
When Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson were preparing to welcome their first child in 1988, they reportedly wanted to name her Annabel. According to Hello!, the late Queen wasn’t impressed, brushing off the choice as “too yuppie.”
During the family’s annual summer stay at Balmoral, the monarch offered her own suggestion: Beatrice. The name, meaning “bringer of joy,” carried royal significance as well, paying tribute to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, later Princess Henry of Battenberg.
Though seen as an “unexpected choice” at the time, Beatrice has since become one of the most recognisable names in today’s royal family. Her parents ultimately announced her full name two weeks after her birth: Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary. At the time, she was fifth in line to the throne.
Now ninth in line, Beatrice is a devoted mother to her daughters, Sienna Elizabeth and Athena Elizabeth Rose, and stepmother to her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi’s son, Christopher “Wolfie” Woolf. Her family life remains a source of joy. Just last month, Edoardo marked their fifth wedding anniversary with a heartfelt message on Instagram, calling her his “most beautiful and amazing wife” and celebrating their journey together.
