When Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi announced the birth of their second daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose, on Wednesday, royal fans were overjoyed. As the news broke that King Charles and Queen Camilla were delighted by the news, and tributes rushed in from Princess Eugenie and Sarah Ferguson, the world started to wonder: what might the meaning be behind the new royal baby’s name?
Of course, like many of the new generation of Windsors, baby Athena’s middle name is a tribute to her great-grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. Rose might be a gesture towards the ancient symbol of the York family, a white rose. But why Athena? The Olympian name refers to the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom – a nod perhaps to great-grandfather Prince Philip’s Greek heritage? Maybe Beatrice and Edo were inspired by Lady Kitty Spencer, who revealed that she named her baby daughter Athena in July last year?
Tatler has one theory to add to the mix – and it has everything to do with baby Athena’s grandparents, Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, and the noble Italian heritage of her father, Edo. The story starts with the birth of Sienna, Princess Beatrice’s first daughter, in September 2021. The following month, the elder York sister shared a photo of the baby’s footprints, alongside a message announcing her name: ‘We are delighted to share that we have named our daughter Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi. We are all doing well and Wolfie is the best big brother to Sienna.’ Wolfie is the family’s name for Christopher Mapelli Mozzi, Edo’s son with his previous partner, Dara Haung, who co-parents him with Princess Beatrice.