The cruiser was named for Queen Elisabeth of Romania, wife of King Carol I. She married Carol in 1869 and, by 1887, had lived in Romania for eighteen years and been queen for about six. Her work for her adopted country gave the British-built warship a Romanian public identity. The discussion also notes that Princess Maria, her only child, died aged three in 1874, and connects that loss with the scarcity of later photographs in which Elisabeth is smiling.
Notable Point · 8:27-10:14
Queen Elisabeth and the cruiser's national identity
The namesake discussion gives the British-built cruiser a distinctly Romanian identity through Queen Elisabeth's service and family history.