WHY Zara Tindall chose to name her daughter ‘Lena’ instead of the full version, ‘Elena,’ has been revealed – and exactly how the Queen reacted.
Zara and Mike Tindall welcomed their second daughter in 2018 but her name caused some confusion with the late Queen Elizabeth.
Zara Tindall gave her daughter, Lena, the middle name Elizabeth to honour the Queen
The mum feared her daughter’s initials would be E.T if she used the full name Elena
New information about the Royal Family has emerged in an explosive book by a close confidant of the senior royals.
Gyles Brandreth’s upcoming biography, Elizabeth: An intimate Portrait, revealed the Queen’s reaction to Lena’s name.
The pair opted for the shortened version of the name Elena, and dedicated their daughter’s middle name to Her Majesty, Elizabeth.
The monarch was confused by the pronunciation of Lena when she was told it sounded like “lay-na.”
As reported by the Daily Mail, Zara explained to Her Majesty: “It’s short for Elena.”
To which the Queen responded: “What’s wrong with Elena? Elena’s a lovely name.”
“Her initial would then have been E.T,” Zara said.
“I’m afraid you’ve lost me there,” said the Queen.
Using Elizabeth as a middle name has become a popular tradition in the Royal Family.
Princess Anne, Zara, Princess Beatrice, and Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor all share the middle name, in honour of the late monarch.
This comes as many more secrets were revealed by the intimate biography, including the Queen’s reaction to Meghan Markle.
Gyles Brandreth, Prince Philip’s friend, has claimed the Queen liked the Duchess of Sussex and did “everything to make her feel welcome”.
But he also claimed that she had one very telling concern about their relationship.
It explains: “The only concern the Queen let slip in the early days of the Sussexes’ marriage was to wonder to a friend if Harry wasn’t ‘perhaps a little over-in-love’.
“This was as far as she came – to my knowledge at least – to ever uttering a word against the new Duchess of Sussex.”
It comes as…
- The Queen dismissed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Oprah interview as “nonsense”
- Her Majesty’s telling reaction to Prince Harry’s romance with Meghan Markle has been revealed
- The Royal Family found it “bewildering” when Meghan and Harry called their daughter Lilibet
- Royal staff’s secret code names for Meghan and Harry have been revealed
- The Queen secretly fought painful cancer in the final year of her life
- The Queen responded to Prince Andrew’s account of his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein with one word
The book also claims, contrary to claims made by Meghan in her explosive interview with Oprah, that the Queen and the royal family greeted Meghan with open arms.
It says the Queen was “devoted” to Harry and that and “she truly wished him well in his new life abroad” – and that this love was also extended to Meghan when she was brought into the family.
An excerpt of the book, published in The Mail On Sunday says: “The truth is that when her grandson told her he was marrying Meghan Markle, she was truly delighted by the prospect.
“She liked Meghan and told lots of people so. And she did everything she could to make her future granddaughter-in-law feel welcome.”
It claims the Queen even suggested she keep working as she was “concerned for her future happiness”.
It reads: “At their first meeting, the Queen said to Meghan: ‘You can carry on being an actress if you like – that’s your profession, after all.’”
Zara and Mike Tindall on a family walk with daughters Mia and Lena Tindall
Zara welcomed her second daughter Lena in June 2018
