Baby born on day Queen died named in her honour

A Trillick couple welcomed their newborn daughter, Elizabeth, into the world on the same day as Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

Elizabeth Florence Mills was born on September 8 at 10.31am in the South West Acute Hospital, weighing 8lbs and two-and-a-half ounces, much to the delight of parents, Jonny and Stephanie – but their elation turned to shock when later that day the news broke that the Queen had died.

The local couple had previously decided to name their daughter Lizzie after Stephanie’s beloved late grandmother, and the decision to formally name her Elizabeth was influenced by the fact that 2022 was the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which Jonny and Stephanie and ‘the baby bump’ had attended the Trooping of the Colour on the Mall during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London back in June.

According to Stephanie, who is a well-known local jeweller, this was a “poignant” coincidence – but she also felt that naming her daughter Elizabeth was a fitting tribute to the late monarch.

She said, “We had always said that if we had a girl, we would call her Lizzie. We didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl, so we also had a boy’s name picked out.

“We were always keen on the name Elizabeth Florence because it’s Jonny’s mother’s middle names.

“As well as this, Jonny and I had visited London for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations on the Mall and had seen the Trooping of the Colour ceremony. Whenever the Red Arrows passed overhead while the Queen and Royal Family where on the balcony, we said that if we had a girl we would definitely officially call her Elizabeth, seeing as she would be born in the same year as the Platinum Jubilee!

“Fast forward a few months and our daughter was born in the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen so we went ahead and called her Elizabeth, lovingly known as Lizzie, but we got quite a shock when we heard later that day that the Queen had passed away. It was a coincidence but a fitting tribute to our Queen.

“Since the birth of Lizzie, her grandad Joe Mills has went to London to pay his respects by visiting the Queen Laying in State and stood on the Mall on the day of HRH’s funeral.

“We are eternally grateful to the fabulous doctors and midwives of SWAH that helped bring Elizabeth into the world and helped me become a mother to such a beautiful baby girl.

“Our deepest sympathies to King Charles III and all the Royal Family.”