Why Princess Eugenie’s son isn’t named after Queen Elizabeth’s father but has a double connection with another British King

There’s a simple reason why Princess Eugenie’s son isn’t named after Queen Elizabeth’s father but has a double connection with another British King.

• Princess Eugenie’s son Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank was named after three relatives, both royal and non-royal.
• His name actually has two connections to a British King, but not to Queen Elizabeth’s father King George VI.
• This royal news comes as we revealed Carole Middleton loves this soft-pink snakeskin bag so much she's worn it to multiple events. 

Just a few weeks after her excited mom Sarah Ferguson revealed Princess Eugenie’s second baby was due in late May, the King’s niece took to Instagram to announce that she and her husband Jack Brooksbank were now proud parents-of-two. Princess Eugenie revealed that they’d welcomed their second son, Ernest, on May 30 and shared two special snaps of their newborn, including one with his brother August. Describing “Augie” as “loving being a big brother already”, she also opened up about the significance of her second son’s middle names.

Just like August Philip Hawke Brooksbank’s name honored Princess Eugenie’s grandfather Prince Philip, Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank’s full name is equally family-focused.

“He is named after his great great great Grandfather George, his Grandpa George and my Grandpa Ronald,” the caption declared, clarifying that ‘George’ is in tribute to both sides of his family. 

Ronald Ferguson is Princess Eugenie’s maternal grandfather - Sarah Ferguson’s father - and George Brooksbank is Jack’s father. However, the choice of George only after King George V might come as a surprise to some. Princess Eugenie’s son isn’t named after the late Queen Elizabeth’s father King George VI, but specifically after her grandfather, King George V.

Although both died before Princess Eugenie was born, King George VI had a huge impact upon Queen Elizabeth and was more closely related to Ernest than King George V. But, whilst some might not know it, the Queen’s father wasn’t actually called “George” when he was born. 

King George VI took this as his regnal name in 1936 when he ascended the throne but he was born Albert Frederick Arthur George. It seems possible that this is why Princess Eugenie’s son wasn’t also named after him, as “George” wasn’t his birth name like it was for King George V.

King George V also has another sweet naming link with Ernest Brooksbank as he was born George Frederick Ernest Albert. Princess Eugenie and Jack might have had other reasons for naming their son Ernest and his first name wasn’t delved into in her Instagram post. Though it’s certainly sweet that in more ways than one, Ernest Brooksbank is connected to his historic British King. 

According to Behind The Name, Ernest is also a name derived from the Old High German ‘Ernust’ meaning serious. For both baby Ernest and King George V, this choice could also have been a sweet tribute to the Royal Family’s German heritage.

Very sadly, Ernest Brooksbank is the only one of the late Queen Elizabeth’s great-grandchildren she never got to meet, though naming her son partly after Queen Elizabeth's grandfather was a lovely detail. Princess Eugenie previously revealed in a piece for The Spectator what she hopes August will inherit from her grandmother and it’s likely she feels similarly about her second son too. 

“I’d love Augie to have her patience, her calmness and her kindness, while always being able to laugh at himself and keep a twinkle in his eye,” she declared.