As we discussed over the weekend, Princess Beatrice named her first child Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi. I was surprised by just how well the name fit all of the criteria: the name isn’t too stuffy or dated, it’s got an Italian flavor (Edo is Italian nobility), it honors the Queen and while it’s not a “royal name,” it’s common enough. All in all, well chosen for Bea and Edo. So just how did B&E come to that name? Well, a “friend” chatted about it:
A family friend of the couple said: ‘They were looking for an Italian name which started with an S for Sarah, to honour the Duchess. And also reflected the golden rust colour of both the Duchess’s hair colour and Beatrice’s, which the new baby shares.’
Posting an image of the baby’s footprints on Instagram on Friday, Edoardo wrote: ‘Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi. Our life together has just begun, and I can’t wait to see all the amazing things that await us. Feeling so much love and gratitude for my amazing wife, baby Sienna and Wolfie. These are the days I never want to forget. This week, a friend said to me the sweetest saying….that with every child you grow a whole new heart. A massive thank you to the Midwife and the amazing team at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.’
Sienna is an Italian name, likely to have been chosen because of Edo’s roots, but Elizabeth is a touching tribute to Beatrice’s grandmother the Queen. Although her mother is a princess, Sienna, who is the Queen’s 12th great-grandchild, will not have a royal title. Only grandchildren of the monarch through the male line are automatically entitled to the styling of HRH. This means she will be plain Miss Mapelli Mozzi. The Queen could bestow a title on her great-grandchild if desired, but it is unlikely to be asked for.
So it really does seem like Beatrice gave birth to a little redhead, and they wanted the name to reflect that too. Which is cute. I could have done without the comment that Beatrice wanted an S-name to honor her mother though. I get that both York princesses adore their mother, but lord, Fergie is a disaster. There’s a feeling that Beatrice’s birth and name announcements were delayed because of Prince Andrew’s legal situation, and the fact that he couldn’t be bothered to leave Balmoral to meet his granddaughter for more than a week. Disaster.
As for the thing with the titles… yes, that was always my understanding. If Beatrice and Eugenie really *wanted* their children to have some kind of title, they would ask the Queen, or rather, their father would ask the Queen. But I think both York princesses are fine with raising lil’ commoners.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.
I wasn’t on here this weekend and didn’t see the name news reported anywhere! But Sienna is a really beautiful name and a cool way to also honor her mom.
It’s like in Jewish tradition, a child is named (Hebrew name or English name) using the first letter of the name of a loved one who has passed (never after a living person, as it’s considered “bad luck”). My Hebrew name is Sarah, named after my dad’s mother, although they could’ve used any name starting with S.
I think Sephardic & Mizrahi Jews will name after a living relative; it’s the Ashkenazi that restrict the naming tradition to deceased relatives
What no show us the baby?. Oh well. The name is sweet though.
Sienna is a nice name, and if she did pick it in part to honor her mother, eh, she’s her mother, I can’t blame her. Its better than naming her Andrea.
Both Jack and Edo seem pretty grounded to me, overall, and probably not that interested in having a title. I do wonder though if Andrew pushed for one for them and was shot down or if it never got that far.
I really like the name sienna. Its cute! Funny how we have had 0 meltdowns from the royal rota tho. Remember when meghan posted archies feet for mothers day?
If they wanted to honour Sarah why not a name with $ or £, it would be very fitting. Maybe even $ienna Elizabeth.
$ienna £lizabeth if we’re being honest as essentially the while point of royalty is grift, only make it aristocratic.
“$ienna £lizabeth”. OMG…TOO perfect!!!!
The third letter in my sons name was to honor my MIL…🤣
Sienna is a beautiful Italian name but saying that the S was for her mom is actually humorous I thought it was a joke until I read the article and they were serious.
Cute name (very trendy, but whatever) but the hypocrisy here is what gets me. If it were Meghan, the royal reporters would not be saying how sweet the tribute to the queen was.
It’s not always about Meghan
Of course not. But the contrast between how Meghan’s choices are received as compared to ANYONE else in the royal family is astonishing and worth noting.
Yessss I totally thought Sienna was in reference to her mother’s hair.
Beatrice and Eugenie’s children are not entitled to titles. Anybody attempting to say they refused titles for them is not being accurate. Only the chidlren and grandchildren of the monarch are entitled to them. This is why CH went to Harry and Meghan and told them that Charles was going to change the law so that Archie won’t get one when he became King. According to the law, William’s children weren’t supposed to be Prince and Princess until Charles ascended the throne but the Queen intervened in this case. The media tried to gaslight the public into thinking Meghan misunderstood the law and she was demanding titles for Archie wasn’t entitled to but she was telling the truth.
I’m sure 🙄
I like the name a lot. Siena (One N, like the Italian town) was on our short list for our daughter. I absolutely love the town of Siena, went there for our honeymoon and it is enchanting. The name is beautiful. I didn’t want our baby’s name to be with two Ns because of the color – burnt orange is the color of my college’s rival school. Dumb I know. 🙂 Ultimately my husband and I couldn’t pick between Siena and another name, so we found a third name we liked even more.
But for a redhead who gave birth to a redhead, I think it is darling! I like the tribute to her mom with a letter. It’s her mom. Bea can’t help that her family is a mess.
I like the name, but it’s very British – it’s not an Italian name, we don’t usually name people for cities here (and it would be “Siena” in the Italian spelling anyway).
Edo’s family has some sort of title (titles are not recognized by the State, and the better class of Italian aristos do not use them socially), but it’s based in Lombardy, not Tuscany, where Siena is located. The “homage to Italy” is typical of a British tourist who bought a vacation house in Chianti and now feels “Italian”.
What’s the betting that the ‘friend’ is actually Sarah, Duchess of York? Wanting to make everyone know she’s not been forgotten?
It’s nice that she named her to honor her mother and also as a nod to her red hair. Fergie might be a mess but that’s her mother, end of, They seem like a pretty close family.
So that’s why Fergie dropped hints about the “hint of red” in the hair color… a selfish or passive-aggressive desire to reveal the name indirectly without Bea’s permission.