Princess Eugenie May Have Quietly Teased Her Baby Daughter’s Name Eight Years Ago
Princess Eugenie has only just revealed the name of her newborn daughter, but an intriguing detail from her 2018 royal wedding suggests the choice has a connection stretching back eight years.
The Princess announced on 17 August that her third child with husband Jack Brooksbank is named Adelaide Elizabeth Annina Brooksbank, explaining that the name honours “three people we love and admire past and present”.
While Elizabeth provides a touching tribute to Eugenie’s late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, Adelaide reaches much further into royal history — to Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV and great-aunt of Queen Victoria.
And remarkably, Eugenie had already paid tribute to that same royal woman on one of the biggest days of her life.
The hidden connection to Eugenie’s 2018 wedding
When Eugenie and Jack celebrated their wedding on 12 October 2018, the Princess changed into a floor-length, long-sleeved gown for the evening reception.
Her accessories included two historic pieces with a direct connection to Queen Adelaide.
Eugenie borrowed two of Queen Victoria’s Wheat-Ear Brooches from Queen Elizabeth II and wore the sparkling heirlooms in her hair.
According to information previously published on the Palace website, the pieces were originally commissioned by King William IV in 1830 for his wife, Queen Adelaide.
They passed to Queen Victoria in 1837 before eventually entering Queen Elizabeth II’s collection in 1952. The late Queen wore the jewels both as traditional brooches and as hair ornaments.
Eugenie followed that tradition by transforming two of the historic pieces into glittering hair accessories for her wedding reception.
The Windsor collection contains six of the wheat-ear pieces, featuring diamonds set in silver and gold, and they have been passed through generations of the Royal Family.
Eight years later, Queen Adelaide’s name has unexpectedly resurfaced in an even more personal chapter of Eugenie’s life.
The royal history behind Adelaide
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Baby-name expert Sophie Kihm, editor-in-chief of Nameberry, explained that Adelaide has deep European and royal roots.
The name is used in English, Italian and Portuguese, making it particularly appropriate for Eugenie’s daughter, who was born in Portugal.
Adelaide derives from the German name Adelheidis and means “noble”.
Its British royal association dates to Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the German princess who married King William IV and became Queen.
Known as “Good Queen Adelaide”, she helped popularise the name during the early 19th century. The Australian city of Adelaide was also named in her honour.
Kihm said the Brooksbanks’ choice is partly inspired by Queen Adelaide, while also drawing on Portuguese history through Maria Adelaide, a name associated with two Portuguese women — a royal and a saint.
She also predicted that, as often happens following royal baby announcements, the name could become considerably more popular in the coming years.
A tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
The newborn’s full name carries another unmistakable royal connection.
Her first middle name, Elizabeth, honours Eugenie’s late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
When announcing the name, Eugenie explained that her daughter had been named after three people she and Jack “love and admire past and present”, specifically mentioning Adelaide’s late great-grandmother, whom the family continues to hold “close in our hearts”.
The choice therefore brings together several generations of royal history while reflecting Eugenie and Jack’s personal family connections.
Eugenie and Jack begin life as a family of five
Eugenie and Jack welcomed their daughter on 3 August in Portugal, where the family has been living since 2022.
The couple are already parents to sons August, five, and Ernest, three.
Eugenie waited two weeks after the birth before publicly revealing her daughter’s full name on Instagram.
Reflecting on those first days together, she described the period as “the most special, cosy and love-filled time”.
She also revealed that her sons have enthusiastically embraced the arrival of their younger sister, adding: “Augie and Ernie are already the best big brothers.”
Yet perhaps the most fascinating detail lies eight years in the past. Long before Eugenie knew she would one day have a daughter named Adelaide, she walked into her own wedding reception wearing two historic jewels originally created for the Queen whose name would eventually become part of her little girl’s royal story.
