Queen Elizabeth named Princess Beatrice after disapproving of her original name

She reportedly found the name "too yuppie"

Princess Beatrice
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Mountbatten-Windsors are the most talked-about family in the world, something that has been no exception this past few years with fallouts, title changes and of course royal baby arrivals.

Princess Eugenie gave birth earlier this year, welcoming a son, Ernest George, with her husband Jack Brooksbank. And with Princess Beatrice, Prince Harry, Prince William and their other cousins having young children of their own now, there is officially a new generation of royals.

This week, it was a resurfaced story about the late Queen's involvement that got the world talking, with the late monarch carrying a lot of weight when it came to new arrivals - something that will no doubt be passed on to King Charles.

The Queen was said to be the first person to be informed once the royal baby in question had been born and it has been reported that if she didn’t approve of the royal baby name, it would most likely be changed.

"The Queen has the power to say what their title is," Royal commentator Kate Williams explained in an interview with CNN ahead of baby Archie’s birth in 2019. "But in the case of names, it is more of an informal conversation."

She continued: "Of course they have such respect for the Queen that if she says 'I really don’t like that name,' they’d definitely take that into account."

This is proven in the case of Princess Beatrice, who it reemerged this week was at one point destined to have a very different moniker.

Yes, really. Princess Beatrice was reportedly named by the Queen herself after she didn’t approve of the original name her parents were set on, Annabel.

According to The Sun, Queen Elizabeth found the name Annabel "too yuppie", reportedly suggesting the name Beatrice instead.

And while it took two weeks before Princess Beatrice’s name was officially announced, all family members were said to be happy, with The Sun reporting via Associated Press that "the name was royal enough for the Queen but unusual enough to please Sarah [Ferguson]".

Well, that’s lovely.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.