Why it’s worth protecting the Queen’s good name
WHAT’S in a name? Well, a great deal – particularly if you’re the Queen. The royal hoo-ha about whether Harry sought his grandmother’s permission to call his newborn daughter Lilibet – Her Maj’s very private nickname – may have had some rolling their eyes.
Others would argue does it really matter?
Well, in short – yes. What we call our kids is never, ever ‘only’ a name. Names carry history and meaning.
For a start, every new parent – royalty notwithstanding – will tell you the choice of what to call a new offspring can be a fraught affair.
Should the babe take a name in honour of a family member? If so, which one? Should they have three names to keep everyone happy? And what if you don’t want junior to be called Horatio Claude?
Some names are also off-limits because of past connotations. You want to call the baby Sarah? The same name as the woman who ran off with your aunty’s husband 20 years ago? Are you out of your mind?
Then there’s competitive naming, friends falling out because one person ‘stole’ their baby’s name for their own child.
Once you grow up, you can decide what to call yourself.
Unfortunately, so can others.
For years I endured light bullying from a lad down our street who would squeal ‘Sleeeeeeee’ as I passed by, blurring my first and second names into a high-pitched whine that set my teeth on edge. Then there was my mate who, in her first job, was one of three members of staff called Jane – one of whom was the boss. She decided there were too many Janes and decreed my chum should be called Carol instead – which she did for her career there. Use a first name inappropriately – referring to the chief exec as ‘Dave’ in that important meeting – can be disastrous. Get someone’s name wrong – referring to the chief exec as ‘Steve’ when he’s Simon – and it’s embarrassing.
And then there are nicknames – a different set of hazards. Who gets to call you what is a big deal. My dad used to call me ‘Suzie Q’ – that’s what being a child of the 1970s does for you I guess – but it was affectionate; something between he and I alone.
Years later an office colleague randomly took to calling me the same thing. I bit my tongue each time. In the end I asked him to stop.
Which brings us back to the Queen. Only two people in the world called her ‘Lilibet’ – her beloved father and her adored husband.
If Harry and Meghan did just use the name without expressly asking its original owner’s permission they’ve overstepped the mark. Why not just call the child Elizabeth if they wanted to honour her? What’s in a name?
A lot more than you think.