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Princess Beatrice almost had a totally different name

Photo credit: Eamonn M. McCormack - Getty Images
Photo credit: Eamonn M. McCormack - Getty Images

From Cosmopolitan

Princess Beatrice is the first-born child of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his former wife, Sarah Ferguson. But it turns out the 31-year-old Princess very nearly wasn't called Beatrice at all - and she may have her grandmother, the Queen, to thank for that.

It's tradition for members of the royal family to run their baby name suggestions by Her Majesty, as a matter of courtesy. But according to reports, Sarah and Andrew's original choice of Annabel was rejected by Queen Elizabeth, on the grounds that the name was too "yuppie". While the royal family hasn't confirmed or denied this, what we do know is that the Yorks ended up presenting baby 'Beatrice Elizabeth Mary' to the world back in 1988.

The Princess' middle names honour her grandmother, the Queen, as well the Queen's grandmother, who was called Mary. But who knows? We might have had a Princess Annabel Elizabeth Mary in some other parallel universe...

Two years later, Beatrice's little sister came along, and she was named Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena. As far as we know, the Queen had no issues with those choices, so there was no need for a last minute swerve from Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson that time around.

Photo credit: Express - Getty Images
Photo credit: Express - Getty Images

But the Duke and former Duchess of York aren't the only royals to have made a late change to their child's name. When Zara Tindall had her second daughter in June 2018, she revealed that the process of picking a name hadn't been so straight forward. "I liked the name Elena but I didn’t want her initials to be 'ET' so she's Lena," Zara told the Telegraph shortly after Lena's birth.

I mean, fair enough (not that we've got anything against the little extra-terrestrial alien).

Photo credit: Max Mumby/Indigo - Getty Images
Photo credit: Max Mumby/Indigo - Getty Images

Princess Beatrice (which we think suits her perfectly) was due to have been married by now, with her wedding to fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi originally having been scheduled for May 29 this year. Sadly, however, the coronavirus pandemic scuppered the couple's plans, and they haven't yet announced a new date.

Beatrice is thought to have spent lockdown between her London flat and Edo's family home in the Cotswolds, which we got a sneak peek of in the royal's recent video. Dialling into a Zoom call with her sister Princess Eugenie, to support the Teenage Cancer Trust, Beatrice could be seen in a room in the Chipping Norton property, which had a neutral colour palette and some very stylish looking grey and cream printed curtains.

Photo credit: teenage_cancer - Instagram
Photo credit: teenage_cancer - Instagram

Apparently, the property is worth a casual £1.5 million. Very nice, too. Here's hoping the pandemic is over soon enough, so Beatrice and Edo can get planning their special big day.

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