You Had No Name

Warning – this contains spoilers for The Crown.

This outtake is from early on in The Crown and it explains why Sarah’s name stays as ‘Sarah’. I tried to fit it into the published version, but it slowed down the pace too much.

At least, to my relief, I had been allowed to keep my name.
I had been afraid, when I had first arrived on Verindon, that I would be given another name. I had grown up as Sarah Fenhardt, the name my adoptive human parents had given me. I was sure that it wasn’t sufficiently regal for the ruler of a planet, but as the months passed people continued to call me the Lady Sarah.
Eventually, I had become curious enough to ask. “What’s my real name?” I had questioned Letz.
He had looked at me blankly. “My Lady?”
“What name did the Overlord Darnell and the Lady Misilina give me when I was born?”
His face brightened as he realized what I meant. “Of course, my Lady! What bright curiosity you have! It is a continual delight to see it, and to see you learning more and more about your home!”
I waited patiently for him to get to the point.
“You had no name, my Lady.”
“What, none at all?”
“The Heir to the throne of Verindon is always named at a special ceremony to celebrate his or her first birthday. The name is elected by council, although the parents’ favorites are generally accepted. So you were never given a name, as you were taken from this planet before your first birthday. When you were discovered on Earth it was decided that you should keep your given name, so that your transition back to your true home should not be an arduous one.”
I was relieved. Some on council would, I was sure, have fought for a traditional name for me, but, in this case, it seemed common sense had overruled.
Or maybe it was the novelty of it. The name ‘Sarah’ was new to Verindon, and the people were only too happy to embrace it. In the past five months twenty thousand girls had been named Sarah in my honor.