The heroines behind the names of future queens of Belgium and Sweden

Queen Consorts of England might have been expected to name the first few of their children after family members, but the younger children often provided a chance to use names belonging to those that inspired their parents.  And that's a trend that's been picked up by some of Europe's younger royals. A quick look at the names chosen by royal heirs for princesses who will grow up to be queen provides some interesting links to recent history.  Two of the junior princesses who will one day wear their country's crowns have names belonging to royal relatives whose reputations were shaped by World War One and World War Two.

Poppies in the fields of Flanders, where some of the heaviest losses of World War One occurred. 

(photo Tijl Vercaemer)

In just a few days' time, twelve year old Elisabeth Therese Marie Helene of Belgium will become heir to her country's throne when her father, Philippe, becomes king on the abdication of his father, Albert II.  Elisabeth's name is among the most traditional in European royalty with consorts and regnants right across the continent wearing it through the centuries.  It's also a name found in all three languages of the country she will one day rule - Flemish, French and German.  But the little princess was given the name in honour of her great, great, grandmother who began life as Elisabeth of Bavaria and went on to rule as Queen Consort of the Belgians from 1909 to 1934.

 

Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen Consort of the Belgians and wife of Albert I.  Her great, great granddaughter, Elisabeth, becomes heir to the throne on July 21st 2013.

  

Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians was the son of a royal trailblazer, Karl-Theodor, who was a trained doctor and who ran a clinic assisted by his wife, Maria Josepha of Portugal who worked with him as a nurse.  And nursing was one of the ways that Elisabeth made her mark on the hearts of her people and the history of her country.  Five years after she became Queen Consort, Belgium was dragged into World War One - her husband, Albert I, refused to let the German army march through his country to attack France and found his own nation invaded.  Elisabeth became a nurse, working on the frontline and opening a clinic.  She also founded an orphanage for children affected by the war.

 

King Albert I of the Belgians and Queen Consort Elisabeth on the day of their engagement

 

Elisabeth was a widow and Queen Mother by the time World War Two started but during that conflict she was involved in work to rescue Jewish children from deportation by the Nazis.  As a war heroine in both world conflicts, she remains beloved in Belgium and a role model for the 21st century.

 

 

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium will become heir to her country's throne on July 21st 2013 and from then on will be known as the Duchess of Brabant.  She's seen here with her father, Prince Philippe.

 

And the inspiration of a great charity worker also seems to have inspired the Crown Princess of Sweden and her husband when they chose a name for their first child.  Their selection of Estelle was a surprise when it was announced by the present King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, the day after the birth.  But it's widely thought that the couple used the inspiration of the American born wife of a royal cousin to name this future Queen of Sweden.

 

 

Princess Estelle of Sweden with her mother, Crown Princess Victoria on their way to auntie Madeleine's wedding in June 2013

(photo Frankie Foughnthin)

 

Estelle Bernadotte was born in New York in 1904 and married the nephew of Swedish King Gustaf V in 1928.  During the war, her husband Folke Bernadotte was involved in the negotiations for the release of tens of thousands of Jewish prisoners being held by the Nazis and when the conflict ended he was appointed UN Security Council mediator in the Arab-Israeli conflict.  In 1948 he was assassinated by the Jewish group Lehi.  His wife took up the mantle of his charity work.

 

 

Estelle Romaine Manville in 1928 before her marriage to Folke Bernadotte

 

Estelle Bernadotte became president of the Swedish Girls Guide and Scout Association and led a charity for children with cerebral palsy named after her husband after its foundation on the 10th anniversary of his death.  She was also involved with major international charities including the Red Cross and UNICEF.

 

Inspirational people have been used to name babies by English Queen Consorts but in medieval times that meant using a saint's name.  The eldest son of Eleanor of Provence and Henry III is likely to have been named after England's saint, Edward the Confessor and Queen Consort Elizabeth Woodville is thought to have named her youngest child after St Bridget of Sweden. 

 

The fact that two future monarchs have named future queens after modern heroines is an interesting trend.