Princess Beatrice of York — who turned 37 on August 8 — has one of the most recognisable names in the British Royal Family. But according to reports, it wasn’t the name her parents originally had in mind.
Beatrice, the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, was born at Portland Hospital in London in 1998. Her arrival made Queen Elizabeth II a grandmother for the fifth time. Yet before she was even a week old, there was a quiet debate over what she should be called.
The Duchess reportedly wanted to name her firstborn Annabel, but when she mentioned it to the Queen during an informal chat, Her Majesty supposedly found the name “too yuppie” for a Windsor. Whether or not that comment sealed the decision, Annabel was set aside, and the baby was christened Beatrice Elizabeth Mary instead. The palace didn’t announce her name publicly until two weeks after her birth.
A Name Rich in Royal History
Beatrice’s first name pays tribute to Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, who was considered her mother’s favourite and spent much of her life at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. After her husband, Prince Henry of Battenberg, passed away, the original Beatrice took on his role as Governor of the Isle of Wight.
Her middle names also carry meaning. Elizabeth honours both her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and her great-grandmother, the Queen Mother. Mary is thought to be a nod to Queen Mary of Teck, wife of King George V, and to the Duchess of York’s late mother, Susan Barrantes, whose middle name was Mary.
Life Today
Princess Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor, on July 17, 2020. The couple have two daughters — Sienna Elizabeth, born in 2021, and Athena Elizabeth Rose, born in January 2025 — and Beatrice is also stepmother to Edoardo’s son, Christopher “Wolfie” Woolf, from a previous relationship.
Five years into marriage, and decades after her naming made headlines behind palace doors, Beatrice remains a working royal with a name steeped in family tradition — even if it wasn’t her parents’ first choice.
