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Which Members of the Royal Family Are Named After the Queen?

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle named their daughter Lilibet, it was the first time that the Queen’s childhood nickname had been used by any of her descendants. However, little Lili (as she will be known) is by no means the first baby in the royal family to be named after her world famous great-grandmother. We take a look at who is named after the Queen—as well as who she is named after:

You only have to look at the numerals after Queen Elizabeth II to know that Elizabeth is a well-established royal name. Queen Elizabeth I reigned from 1558 until 1603 and, while she had no children, the name Elizabeth has continued to feature widely in the royal family since. However, the current Queen was actually named after her mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who was the Duchess of York when she gave birth to her first child in 1926. The Queen's middle names are Alexandra (her great-grandmother and wife of King Edward VII) and Mary (her grandmother and wife of King George V). When the Queen ascended to the throne in 1952, she was asked which name she wanted to use as sovereign. Some monarchs, including her father, had not used their given names; he was christened Albert but took the name George VI as sovereign. But when faced with the choice, Elizabeth famously replied, “My own, of course.”

Photo credit: Fox Photos - Getty Images
Photo credit: Fox Photos - Getty Images

The Queen gave her only daughter Princess Anne the name Elizabeth as her first middle name when she was born in 1950, christening her Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise. And the tradition of using Elizabeth as a middle name continues to be popular within the royal family. Three of the Queen’s four granddaughters have the moniker; Zara Anne Elizabeth Tindall, Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary, and Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor. Having already given Beatrice the middle name Elizabeth, her younger sister Princess Eugenie was christened Eugenie Victoria Helena.

Amongst the Queen’s great-granddaughters, the picture is similar, with four out of her six great-granddaughters bearing her name: Isla Elizabeth Phillips, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, Lena Elizabeth Tindall, and, of course, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.


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