What Princess Eugenie’s Daughter Adelaide’s Name Says About Royal Memory
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank have named their daughter Adelaide Elizabeth Annina Brooksbank. The child was born in Lisbon, Portugal, on August 3, making her the couple’s third child and first daughter. The Royal Family confirmed the birth, while Sky News reported that Eugenie described the name as honoring people the couple love and connecting English and Portuguese history. (royal.uk)
The choice offers a useful glimpse into how members of the modern British royal family use names. It combines a historic royal name, a direct family tribute and a private reference whose meaning has not been publicly disclosed.
Adelaide reaches back to a quieter British reign
The first name has a clear British royal connection. Queen Adelaide, born Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, married William, Duke of Clarence, in 1818. He became King William IV in 1830, and she served as queen consort until his death in 1837.
The Royal Family’s historical account portrays William IV as a monarch who preferred a less extravagant style than his brother George IV. His coronation in 1831 was deliberately restrained, and Queen Adelaide’s name remains tied to that period of constitutional change and royal adaptation. (royal.uk)
Adelaide is not one of the most frequently reused names in the British royal family, which gives it a different quality from Elizabeth, Victoria or Mary. It sounds traditional without pointing only to the most familiar royal figures.
The Portuguese connection adds another layer
The name also recalls Maria Adelaide of Portugal, a member of the House of Braganza who lived through the Second World War. Sky News described her as a resistance figure who helped victims of wartime bombing and faced persecution from the Gestapo. Portuguese reporting has likewise documented her work as a nurse and social assistant and her involvement in resistance activity. (news.sky.com)
That history matters because Eugenie’s daughter was born in Lisbon, a city the couple has identified as one of their homes. The name therefore links the baby not only to royal ancestry but also to Portugal as a place of family life.
Elizabeth is the most recognisable tribute
Eugenie’s announcement referred to the baby’s great-grandmother, a description that points to Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022. Elizabeth was Eugenie’s grandmother and a central figure in her childhood and public life. The middle name places that personal bond inside a familiar royal naming tradition. (news.sky.com)
The meaning of Annina has not been confirmed publicly. Sky News reported that it comes from a personal connection to Eugenie and Brooksbank, but the couple has chosen not to explain it. That gap is significant: royal names may carry public history, yet part of their meaning can remain private.
Taken together, Adelaide Elizabeth Annina presents monarchy as both institution and family. It remembers queens, honours a beloved grandmother and preserves an undisclosed personal story—all without relying on the most obvious names in the royal catalogue.