Sarah ‘Fergie’ Ferguson has reportedly been left quietly devastated after daughter Princess Eugenie failed to honour her in the name of her newborn baby girl.
Eugenie, 36, welcomed her third child, a daughter, in Portugal on August 3 before introducing Adelaide Elizabeth Annina Brooksbank to the world on social media on Monday.
“We are so happy to share Adelaide Elizabeth Annina Brooksbank. Named after three people we love and admire, past and present,” Eugenie captioned the post, which included several sweet pictures of baby Adelaide.
“Her name is part of English and Portuguese history, two places we love and call home.”
However, the carefully chosen moniker has reportedly caused some heartache behind closed doors.
While Fergie is understood to be spending time with Eugenie and baby Adelaide at the Princess’ coastal home in Melides, a friend of the former Duchess has claimed she was privately hurt not to be included in her granddaughter’s name.
“Of course Elizabeth was always going to be one of her baby girl’s names, but the glaring omissions are, of course, ‘Sarah’ or ‘Margaret’,” the friend told New Idea.
“Sarah tried not to be upset when Beatrice didn’t use either of her names for her two girls, but that was before she was exiled in shame.
“She wouldn’t dare to even expect Eugenie to honour her in this way, not now, not after the Epstein nightmare.”
The apparent omission is particularly striking given neither Eugenie nor her older sister, Princess Beatrice, 37, has used Sarah or Margaret – Fergie’s middle name – for any of their daughters.
The source also pointed to Eugenie’s previous decision to honour her maternal grandfather, Major Ronald Ferguson, by giving her second son Ernest the middle name Ronnie.
The latest claims come amid reports the York sisters remain close to their mother behind closed doors but are attempting to distance themselves publicly following the release of the Epstein files in February.
The files shed further light on the extent of their disgraced parents’ relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, triggering another damaging chapter for the embattled York family.
In the fallout, the former Duke and Duchess of York, both 66, were stripped of their remaining titles and forced to leave their longtime home at Royal Lodge.
Fergie has since largely remained out of the spotlight abroad, while Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has spent much of his time on King Charles III’s private Sandringham Estate.
The former prince was also arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office by Thames Valley Police, but has since been released under investigation and has consistently denied wrongdoing.
Despite his dramatic fall from grace, Mountbatten-Windsor remains in the line of succession to the British throne, meaning baby Adelaide is now 15th in line, ahead of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh.
It’s understood Eugenie’s choice of Adelaide was inspired by two historic women with ties to Britain and Portugal: Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV who lived from 1792 to 1849, and Maria Adelaide, one of Portugal’s most famous uncanonized folk saints.
Elizabeth is a touching tribute to Eugenie’s beloved late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022 following her historic 70-year reign.
In an extraordinary coincidence, Adelaide was born almost exactly 100 years after her late great-grandmother, who was born on April 21, 1926.
Eugenie’s daughter becomes the 11th descendant to carry Elizabeth’s name, while her older sister, Princess Beatrice, 37, also paid tribute to the late monarch by including Elizabeth in the names of both her daughters.
Adelaide’s second middle name, Annina, is understood to honour Eugenie’s close friend Annina Pfuel, a Bavarian-born designer and daughter of Count Christian Bruges-von Pfuel.