"I cried for weeks" Princess Beatrice speaks more openly than ever after her daughter's premature birth
Princess Beatrice became the mother of a daughter for the second time at the end of January. Now the 36-year-old reveals in an emotional essay that it was a premature birth - and talks about her fears before giving birth.
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- Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi became parents to a daughter for the second time on January 22, 2025.
- What nobody knew when the British royal family made the announcement: Athena Elizabeth Rose was born several weeks early.
- Now the 36-year-old princess writes in British Vogue about her fears shortly before giving birth.
"Nothing really prepares you for the moment when you realize your baby is going to be born prematurely. You have so little control."
When Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's second daughter was born on January 22, 2025, the baby weighed just under two kilos.
What nobody knew when the British royal family made the announcement: Athena Elizabeth Rose was born prematurely. The 36-year-old daughter of Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew has now made this public in an essay in British "Vogue".
The baby was "closely monitored"
During a routine check-up in the final stages of pregnancy, the royal couple learned that they had to prepare for a possible premature birth.
As a result, the unborn baby was "closely monitored", writes Princess Beatrice. During this time, she received "excellent care" from the medical team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals in London.
In her essay, Princess Beatrice reveals her fears shortly before the birth of her daughter Athena:
"Will it be born healthy? Will there be complications? How will you juggle the rest of family life while trying to keep a tiny human child safe and healthy?"
Princess Beatrice: "Athena was so tiny"
As patron of the British Borne Foundation for research into premature births, Princess Beatrice wants to do everything in her power "to reassure families whose babies may come too soon that they are not alone".
Athena was finally born healthy a few weeks before her due date. Today she is doing well. Later in her essay, the princess provides an insight into her emotional world as a worried mother:
"Athena was so tiny that it took more than a few weeks for the tears of relief to dry and for life with our healthy baby to feel real."
At the end, Princess Beatrice points out that "in many ways ... women's health has not been on the agenda for a long time".
The 36-year-old hopes all the more "that my two daughters will not face these challenges when they grow up if more is invested in medical research".
