William and Kate Would’ve Been ‘Criticized’ for Abandoning ‘Royal Tradition’ if They Took After Eugenie With Baby Names — Author
An author says the arrival of Princess Eugenie’s new baby highlights what Prince William and Kate Middleton couldn’t do with their own kids. Ahead, what Eugenie named her newborn and why the Prince and Princess of Wales would’ve caused a stir had they done something similar.
Eugenie announced her new son Ernest’s name on Instagram
On June 5, Eugenie took to Instagram to share some big news. She announced that she and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, officially became a family of four.
“Jack and I wanted to share the news that we had our little boy, Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank on 30th May 2023 at 8.49 weighing 7.1lbs,” she captioned the Instagram post alongside a photo of the newborn.
Eugenie went on to share the significance of the royal baby’s name. “He is named after his great great great Grandfather George, his Grandpa George and my Grandpa Ronald,” she said.
The 33-year-old continued the post with an update on her oldest child, August Brooksbank. “Augie is loving being a big brother already,” Eugenie said.
She also included a photo of the 2-year-old alongside Ernest before ending the post with blue and red heart emojis.
William and Kate likely to get mixed reactions to non-traditional royal baby names
According to Pauline Maclaran, a Royal Holloway University professor of marketing and consumer research, the Prince and Princess of Wales couldn’t have named their children Ernest or August without a strong reaction from the public. Both good and bad.
“They would have been criticized by ardent royalists, I think, who would have seen this as a departure from royal tradition,” Maclaran told Express. “However, this departure might equally well have been welcomed by a younger generation. Many of whom feel the monarchy is an outdated institution.”
The Royal Fever author explained that non-working royals and those further down the line of succession are “freer to name their children according to their personal preferences.”
Take, for instance, William’s younger brother, Prince Harry. Born third in line to the throne, he’s now fifth. For that reason, he’s been able to explore less traditional royal names.
He and Meghan Markle’s 4-year-old son is named Prince Archie. Meanwhile, the couple have a 2-year-old daughter named Princess Lilibet in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s childhood nickname.
Other kids in the royal family have names such as Sienna, Mia, Lena, Savannah, Lucas, and Isla.
‘Traditional’ baby names probably won’t be on their way out when Prince William and Kate Middleton’s children become parents
“Traditional” names probably won’t be relegated to a bygone era for the royal family. According to Maclaran, royals will probably continue to use time-honored names because it’s one way of upholding tradition. Specifically with George, 9, who is second in the line of succession behind his father, William.
“The choice of their children’s names reflects that heritage and its perpetuation so I think it’s very unlikely that George will change that by choosing less traditional names in the future,” Maclaran said.
Meanwhile, George’s siblings, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, could have more leeway to step outside royal tradition like others further down in the succession.
