Princess Eugenie introduced her daughter to the world yesterday, and the baby has a very regal name: Adelaide Elizabeth Annina Brooksbank.
Eugenie, 36, told her Instagram followers that the couple had looked to the people they ‘love and admire, past and present’ when naming the newest member of the Royal Family.
She wrote that Adelaide, who was born in Portugal two weeks ago, was ‘named after three people’, including, most obviously, the late Queen Elizabeth, Eugenie’s grandmother.
But the newborn’s moniker likely also pays tribute to Queen Adelaide (1792-1849), King William IV’s German-born wife, who, after her husband’s death, became a supportive maternal figure for his niece Queen Victoria.
So renowned was the Queen Consort that the Berkshire royal residence Adelaide Cottage (once home to the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children) was built in 1831 for her, while the Australian city of Adelaide was also named after her.
Eugenie wore two diamond wheat-ear brooches as hair slides at the evening reception of her wedding, which William IV commissioned for Queen Adelaide.
The latest addition to Eugenie and Jack’s family also shares her name with Maria Adelaide of Portugal, the Princess of Braganza, in an homage to the country where Eugenie and Jack have a home.
Meanwhile, when choosing a name for their youngest child, Eugenie and Jack’s thoughts may have also turned to Maria Adelaide, the 19th-century ‘folk saint’ or ‘honorary saint of the people’ from Porto who dedicated her life to serving others.
If ‘Adelaide’ is steeped in royal history, ‘Annina’ appears to be a more personal choice for Eugenie and Jack.
The younger York princess said the couple looked to the people they ‘love and admire, past and present’ when naming baby Adelaide Elizabeth Annina Brooksbank
The princess is known to be friends with Annina Pfuel, the Bavarian-born daughter of Count Christian Bruges-von Pfuel. In 2024, Eugenie attended Annina’s wedding to Caspar von Veltheim in Bavaria and was pictured wearing a traditional dirndl dress.
‘Annina’ also has Italian roots; it is derived from Anne or Anna (both of which mean ‘grace’) and translates to ‘little grace’.
‘Annina’ or ‘little Anne’ could be Eugenie’s way of honouring her aunt, the Princess Royal, who is widely regarded as one of the most selfless and hard-working members of the Firm.
Finally, baby Adelaide’s name might be a subtle tribute to Eugenie’s mother, the former Duchess of York, considering Sarah Ferguson picked Victorian-era names for her own daughters.
Fergie named Princess Beatrice after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s youngest daughter and closest confidante, while Eugenie shares the name of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg.
The name of Eugenie’s firstborn, August, is a tribute to Prince Albert, who was christened Franz Albert August Karl Emanuel at birth.
Continuing the tradition with Ernest, her second son, the princess said his name was chosen in honour of King George V, or George Frederick Ernest Albert.
Baby Adelaide was born at a hospital in Lisbon on August 3.
Eugenie’s sons, August and Ernest, lovingly hold their baby sister Adelaide
Eugenie, 35, who welcomed Adelaide in Portugal two weeks ago, confirmed her daughter’s middle name was a tribute to the late Queen
