Why Princess Beatrice’s children can have titles while Princess Eugenie’s cannot

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are sisters who share the same royal parents, but there is a key difference between their children when it comes to titles.

While Princess Eugenie’s sons, August and Ernest, do not have British royal titles, Princess Beatrice’s children are eligible for a title through their father, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. The distinction comes not from their mother’s royal status, but from Edoardo’s Italian aristocratic family background.

The unusual title connection

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi is the only son of Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi and is a male-line descendant of the Italian Mapelli Mozzi family.

Members of the family were granted the title of Count of the Kingdom of Italy in 1913 by King Victor Emmanuel III. The title passed through the male line of Edoardo’s family.

This means that Beatrice’s children can inherit an Italian aristocratic designation through their father.

Edoardo’s father previously explained that because Edoardo is the male descendant carrying the family into the next generation, his children would be entitled to the corresponding titles. A daughter can be known as a Nobile Donna, while a son can inherit the title of Count.

Why Eugenie’s children are different

Princess Eugenie’s sons, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank and Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank, do not have a comparable aristocratic title through their father, Jack Brooksbank.

The brothers are therefore known simply by their names rather than as princes or by another hereditary title.

The difference can be confusing because Beatrice and Eugenie themselves are both Princesses of York and daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

However, their children’s positions are determined by different family lines.

The British royal title rules

The distinction also relates to the rules governing British royal titles.

Under the arrangements established in 1917, the children of a monarch and the monarch’s sons are generally entitled to use the styles of Prince or Princess and HRH. Beatrice and Eugenie are grandchildren of the monarch through the male line, which is why they themselves were born as Princesses.

Their own children, however, are great-grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II and were not automatically entitled to British royal titles at birth.

This is why Beatrice’s children do not receive British prince or princess titles simply because their mother is a princess.

Beatrice’s children and their Italian heritage

The title associated with Beatrice’s children comes instead from their father’s family.

Beatrice married Edoardo in a private ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor, on 17 July 2020.

Their first daughter, Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, was born on 18 September 2021 at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

Their second daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose, was born prematurely on 22 January 2025, also at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

Both girls therefore have a connection to the Mapelli Mozzi family and its Italian aristocratic heritage.

A subtle difference between the York sisters

The situation highlights an unusual distinction between Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie as their families continue to grow.

Both sisters remain members of the wider royal family, but neither is a working royal. Beatrice works as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Afiniti, while Eugenie is a director at the art gallery Hauser & Wirth.

Their children, meanwhile, occupy different positions when it comes to inherited titles.

So although Beatrice and Eugenie share the same royal background, the title question for their children is ultimately shaped by their fathers’ family histories — with Beatrice’s children able to inherit a connection to the Mapelli Mozzi family’s Italian aristocratic tradition, while Eugenie’s children do not have the same entitlement.