Ernest had four sisters but always wanted a brother, vocally expressing his discontent at the births of his two sibling sisters. In his very early childhood his mother, as was not totally uncommon, dressed Ernest in frilly girls clothes and paraded him and his elder sister, Marcelline, as twins (another childhood fact that he later resented).
Wonder why it as “not totally uncommon.”
Another mention of this fact here. It also mentions that this may have contributed to his hyper-masculinity later in life.