August Philip Hawke Brooksbank: Who is Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's new baby son named after?
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank have announced the name of their newborn son and while it might sound unusual, the baby boy is named after three of his ancestors.
August Philip Hawke Brooksbank was born on February 9 and is the Queen’s ninth great-grandchild.
The couple chose the name August after Queen Victoria’s consort Prince Albert, who had Augustus as a middle name.
Prince Albert is August’s great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.
Philip is in honour of Eugenie’s grandfather and August’s great-grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh.
Eugenie shared a post on her Instagram Stories which said: “On his grandfather’s birthday weekend, thinking of my grandfather, we are introducing our little boy.
“He is named after his great-grandfather and both of his great x5 grandfathers.”
The princess’s father the Duke of York turned 61 on Friday.
In a post on her Instagram page, the princess announced her son's name on Saturday morning.
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Philip is currently at King Edward VII’s hospital, having been admitted on Tuesday evening after feeling unwell.
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said the decision to include the name Philip is likely to be seen as a “mark of respect” as he approaches his 100th birthday.
He told the PA news agency: “I would have been surprised if Philip hadn’t featured somewhere, given not so much the fact that Eugenie’s grandfather is in hospital but the fact that, all being well, he will celebrate his 100th birthday in a few months.”
Meanwhile it is understood Hawke is a Brooksbank family name.
The first name of August is one which will “attract a lot of interest”, Mr Little said.
He said there is also a derivation of August in the royal family dating back to the 18th century, with the first Duke of Sussex – Prince Augustus Frederick.
Prince Augustus, who was born in 1773 and died in 1843, lived in Kensington Palace.
He was an eccentric son of King George III and his two marriages were deemed illegal.
He became the Duke of Sussex in 1801 but as his children from his first marriage were not recognised, he died without a legitimate heir.
Mr Little said royals who are further down the line of succession generally have “much freer reign to choose names that they like rather than they feel that they need because of the status of their newborn”.
The Duke and Duchess of York’s unusual choice of name for their second daughter was a bit of a talking point when Eugenie was born in 1990.
“There was quite a lot of interest when Eugenie’s name was announced because that was quite unusual as well at the time,” said Mr Little.
“These names come and go fashion-wise.”
Pronounced “Yoo-junnee”, it was inspired by one of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, and the princess goes by the nickname “Euge”.
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