The year 2019 is the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria, and two of her descendants, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are linked to her through their names.
Express says that Queen Victoria was born 200 years ago at Kensington Palace, a floor above the apartment where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge currently live with their family. Before Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria held the record for the longest reign with 64 years on the throne.
Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter was named Beatrice, and when Prince Andrew was born in 1960, he was the first child born to a reigning monarch since Beatrice’s birth in 1858, which is only one connection to the second son of Queen Elizabeth. When the princess was born in 1988, there was a comment in Burke’s Peerage about her name.
“The reason the Duke and Duchess of York have chosen the name Beatrice is because of their desire to honor the King and Queen of Spain, who are more responsible for making the Duchess feel at home in the Royal Family than any other couple.”
The King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, was touched that Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew named their first born after his great-grandmother. The 19th century Beatrice’s daughter was named Victoria Eugenie, which provided the name for the York’s second born.
The Queen hosted a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. Garden Parties have been a Royal Tradition since the 1860s during Queen Victoria’s reign. Several members of The Royal Family attended including The Duke of Sussex, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and others pic.twitter.com/N5jwE6mW9m
— Flavia – A/c’ (@Flaviaworld) June 1, 2019
Victoria Eugenie became the Queen of Spain linking the House of Bourbon with the House of Hanover. Princess Eugenie recently posted on Instagram a tribute to Queen Victoria.
“Today marks the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria (1819-1901). She reigned for almost 64 years and I’m very proud to be named after her,” she wrote in the caption.
Princess Eugenie’s full name is Eugenie Victoria Helena, which honors another daughter of Queen Victoria, her third daughter, Princess Helena.
As an aside, Prince Andrew and Fergie wanted to name their firstborn Annabel, but Queen Elizabeth put her foot down, calling the name too “yuppie.” It is the queen who suggested the name Beatrice to the couple.
Just this week, Princess Eugenie made a slight change to her name, by taking her husband, Jack Brooksbank’s last name as her own in the place of York, says People Magazine . In the court circular, it was announced that the princess will now be known as “Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Jack Brooksbank.”
Before this, she was officially called Princess Eugenie of York, as late as this April, but the youngest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson made the decision to take her husband’s name going forward before their anniversary.