Princess Eugenie’s daughter has been alive for five days and does not yet appear on the official line of succession published by royal.uk, the British monarchy’s official website, because the website requires a formal name announcement before it updates its succession registry, and the baby does not have a name, per GB News’s confirmed reporting published 15 hours ago. The baby is 15th in line to the British throne. She is not on the official website. She is in Lisbon.
The omission is procedural rather than political. Previous additions to royal.uk, including Eugenie’s elder sons August and Ernest, were listed after their parents formally declared their names to Buckingham Palace. The Palace statement announcing the baby’s birth described the couple as “taking time to decide on the name of their new daughter while the family enjoys spending time together with August and Ernest,” which is the description of new parents in Lisbon who have not yet agreed on what to call their child.
The succession list as currently published shows Eugenie at 12th, August Brooksbank at 13th, and Ernest Brooksbank at 14th. Behind them, per the GB News analysis, the Duke of Edinburgh holds 15th, the Earl of Wessex holds 16th, Lady Louise holds 17th, and Princess Anne holds 18th. When the unnamed daughter is formally added, she will take 15th, moving Edward to 16th, James to 17th, Lady Louise to 18th, and Anne to 19th. The entire extended family shuffles one position because Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank have not yet decided what to call their daughter.
The baby’s grandfather, Prince Andrew, is under police investigation. The baby’s mother is not a working royal. The baby’s father sells luxury property in Portugal. None of this appears on royal.uk because the name has not been chosen.
When the line of succession is held in official limbo because a baby in Lisbon doesn’t have a name yet, what exactly is the institution waiting for?
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