Mini palace playhouses and sex trafficking scandals.
Beatrice and Eugenie have had their ups and downs, but what did their granny, Queen Elizabeth
II, think of it all?
Princess Beatrice would be living with a different first name if it wasn't for the queen.
Royal commentator Kate Williams told CNN that when a royal baby is due, the parents will
have an informal conversation about the baby's name with the queen, adding,
"They have such respect for the Queen that if she says, 'I really don't like that name,'
they'd definitely take that into account."
That consideration was allegedly the case when Andrew and Sarah's first child was born
on August 8, 1988.
According to The Sun, the prince and duchess wanted to name their baby Annabel, but Queen
Elizabeth II thought the name was too "yuppie" and suggested Beatrice instead.
The queen obviously won the argument, and Princess Beatrice's name was officially announced
two weeks later.
Queen Elizabeth II must've approved of Eugenie's name as it was announced as soon as Andrew
and Sarah stepped out of the hospital after the Duchess of York gave birth by C-section
on March 23rd, 1990.
In an interview, the Duchess revealed that while Eugenie had excellent table manners,
growing up, she was, quote, "fiercely candid" as well.
This trait stuck with her as a young adult as the princess revealed in her first interview
before her 18th birthday — although one would guess that she probably toned down the
candidness in front of her grandmother as she got older.
She told The Telegraph,
"I am definitely not as polite as Beatrice, I have to say.
I tell it as it is."
She also admitted,
"I do have an occasional temper — I sort of inherited my dad's short fuse."
In Channel 5's documentary, Beatrice and Eugenie: Pampered Princesses?, the narrator notes that
the sisters grew up, quote, "doted on by their grandparents."
They lived near Windsor Castle and visited often to have tea with Queen Elizabeth II
and Prince Philip.
According to royal author Ingrid Seward, Fergie had taught Beatrice and Eugenie to have, quote,
"three sets of manners: One was for her, one was for when they were out and the third was
when they were with the Queen."
Despite the formalities, the queen had a soft spot for her granddaughters not only because
of their parallels with herself and her sister Margaret, but also because of their parents'
divorce.
Beatrice was three while Eugenie was about to turn two when Andrew and Sarah separated
in 1992.
Royal expert Angela Levin said of the matter,
"It's always very difficult for children to see their parents split up.
And I think perhaps the Queen even felt more maternal towards them.
They'd had a very hard time."
'Granny'
Unlike other grandchildren who have been more formal when referring to the queen in public,
the two sisters have always been open to affectionately calling her "Granny."
Eugenie especially alternated between using 'Granny,' spelled with a "Y," and 'Grannie,'
spelled with an "IE" in her Instagram, such as when she made a tribute post to Prince
Philip that ended with,
"Thank you for your dedication and love for us all and especially Granny, who we will
look after for you."
Furthermore, when the sisters introduce themselves, they tend to do it by their connection to
the queen.
During the Platinum Jubilee, Beatrice and Eugenie attended The Big Jubilee Lunch where
they met and played games with people at the Paddington Recreation Ground in West London.
When a woman asked Beatrice who she was, the princess answered,
"My name is Beatrice.
And the queen is my granny."
"You know, we're very, we're very lucky."
Eugenie echoed this in her introductory paragraph for her congratulatory Platinum Jubilee piece
in The Spectator when she wrote,
"Her Majesty the Queen is an incomparable monarch who has reached a record-breaking
milestone.
She also happens to be my grannie, and I am a very proud granddaughter."
Another property of Queen Elizabeth II's that Beatrice and Eugenie enjoyed when they were
younger was her childhood playhouse at the Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Called "The Little Cottage," it is a two-story miniature house with four rooms that are only
five feet high.
Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret baked cakes in the fully-equipped kitchen and read
Beatrix Potter books in the parlor that had armchairs for their dolls and blue and gold
china in the dresser.
"It's such a wonderful little place."
The cottage had been enjoyed by the royal generations that followed, and in 2012, Beatrice
gave a tour of the newly-renovated version for BBC's documentary, The Diamond Queen.
The queen had trusted her granddaughter with the task, and Beatrice revealed that she had
very specific requests.
"All the fabric, she wanted very little, very little designs, because it was such a little
house."
The playhouse got a fresh coat of paint, new curtains and upholstery, and an updated roof
and wiring.
Recalling her childhood memories in the playhouse, Beatrice said that the queen and her sister
played there growing up.
"And we have been lucky enough to play here, and cousins and second cousins."
Beatrice and Eugenie have often found themselves caught in the crossfire of the various scandals
that their mother — and most notoriously, their father — have been involved in over
the years.
There probably was no bigger support than from the queen herself, who the Daily Beast
reported as being proud of her granddaughters for the way they faced the challenges and
often invited them for afternoon tea.
And despite being non-working royals, it was rumored that Queen Elizabeth II still wanted
them to be respected as "blood princesses."
According to a leaked and updated Order of Precedence, since Princess Catherine is a
commoner, she had to curtsy to the princesses who were royal by birth.
The exception was if Prince William was also present, which would then turn the tables
to have Beatrice and Eugenie curtsying to Princess Catherine.
In turn, the sisters have taken the sometimes unwanted media attention in stride.
Eugenie said to British Vogue,
"We believe very strongly in who we are, and the support system of our friends and our
family is pretty incredible.
There's no point being angry with anyone for beating us up — we just need to shine light
and love in the world."
In January 2018, Eugenie announced her engagement to businessman Jack Brooksbank on BBC's The
One Show.
She revealed that the queen was one of the handful of people that they told right away
— along with Prince Philip, their parents, and their siblings.
“Grannie actually knew right at the beginning.
She was one of the very few people at the beginning."
For the wedding, instead of wearing the York Diamond Tiara that her mother wore for her
own wedding in 1986, Eugenie was lent the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara by the queen.
It was originally the Queen Mother's and has a 93.7 carat emerald in the center.
In regards to the princess' decision to wear this tiara, gemologist Grant Mobley said,
"By wearing this stunning emerald and diamond tiara, Princess Eugenie honored the history
and tradition associated with the Royal Family, while also showcasing her own personal style."
Over the years, whenever the sisters were interviewed, they would often use the phrase
"role model" to describe the queen.
In a 2017 interview with Hello!, Beatrice credited her mother and the queen as being
her role models and said,
"Having female role models is incredibly important and I am very lucky that I happen to be related
to these two incredible women."
In a 2018 British Vogue interview, Eugenie described her grandmother as the ultimate
role model, saying,
"The dedication that she and our grandfather have put towards this country is incredible."
When explaining the reasons as to why they thought the queen was a role model, the sisters
mentioned not only her wisdom, but her curiosity to gain more wisdom.
Eugenie told The Telegraph,
"All I can say is that she has this air of magic about her.
And she is incredibly wise.
What doesn't she know?"
"We look up to her like any granddaughter would to the grandmother, with a little bit
of added something."
Beatrice described her grandmother as inspiring, adding,
"Her overwhelming sense of duty is linked with an overwhelming curiosity.
Every day she's curious to learn something new, to do something new, and [...] she goes
out into the community with a genuine curiosity as to how she can be a force for good in the
world."
Following in their grandmother's footsteps, Beatrice and Eugenie are also involved in
various charitable causes.
The sisters have worked with the Teenage Cancer Trust and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital,
where Eugenie had scoliosis surgery in 2002.
Beatrice has a heart for young people, having co-founded Big Change — which seeks, quote,
"a society where every young person is set up to thrive in life, not just exams."
She's also partnered with the cyberbullying campaign, "Be Cool, Be Nice," in light of
her struggles as a teenager with dyslexia.
Eugenie co-founded the Anti-Slavery Collective to shed light on modern slavery and also partnered
with the anti-plastic campaign, Project Zero.
And while the sisters are both busy with events and fundraisers along with their regular jobs
and families, they've expressed amazement at the sheer volume of causes that their grandparents
had supported over the queen's reign.
Beatrice and Eugenie are 21 months apart, and they each had their first child in the
same year.
Eugenie's son, August, was born on February 9, 2021, while Beatrice's daughter, Sienna,
was born a few months later on September 18, 2021.
Along with sharing the same birth year, both mothers hope that they will carry on the legacy
of their great-grandmother.
For Beatrice, that hope is reflected in giving her daughter the middle name Elizabeth.
And as for Eugenie, she wrote,
"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."
With the queen passing away when August was only a little over a year old and Sienna just
short of her first birthday, the sisters are no doubt grateful that she could spend even
a short time with two of the newest members of her now 12 great-grandchildren.