How Princess Beatrice shunned age-old royal tradition with daughter's name

Princess Beatrice is having a festive week in her household as her eldest daughter, Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, turned four today.

Sienna’s name has always stood out, being a nod to her father’s Italian heritage and also believed to pay tribute to Beatrice’s mother, Sarah Ferguson, as it begins with an “S.”

A family friend previously told Hello!: “They (Beatrice and Edoardo) were looking for an Italian name which started with an S for Sarah, to honour the Duchess [Sarah Ferguson], and also reflected the golden rust colour of both the Duchess's hair colour and Beatrice's, which the new baby shares.”

For years, Beatrice’s immediate family has maintained a naming link to Queen Victoria, a practice started by her mother, the Duchess of York. 

Beatrice and her sister Eugenie were both given names tied to the 19th-century monarch: Beatrice shares her name with Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, while Eugenie’s names also connect back to Victoria’s family.

Eugenie continued the tradition with her own children, naming her eldest son August after one of Prince Albert’s middle names and her younger son Ernest after Queen Victoria’s brother-in-law. 

Beatrice, however, chose a different path for her firstborn, marking a quiet break from the family “rule.”

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