Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice demonstrated their strong bond in the wake of Beatrice’s harrowing pregnancy experience.
Beatrice welcomed her daughter, Athena, on January 22, several weeks earlier than expected.
In a poignant essay featured in British Vogue, she opened up about Athena’s premature arrival and the anxiety she faced during the birth, aware of the potential complications.
Following the publication of the article, Eugenie took to Instagram to express her support, sharing a photo of Beatrice and Athena along with a touching message.
“Proud of you, Beabea and mighty Athena,” she wrote, including a link to Beatrice’s essay and emphasizing, “This is why Bea’s article is so important.”
Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Beatrice’s husband of nearly five years, also shared his pride for his family in an emotional social media post. “So much pride for my beautiful wife, who has bravely shared our story of Athena’s early arrival,” the 41-year-old wrote alongside a picture of Beatrice and their baby.
He also expressed his admiration for her commitment to @bornecharity, an organization that provided essential support during their challenging experience.
Borne is a nonprofit dedicated to ending premature births through comprehensive medical research, and Beatrice became their latest patron following her own unexpected birthing journey.
“The work that Borne is undertaking is something that is incredibly close and personal to me following the recent birth of my daughter,” Beatrice commented during the Borne Wonderland fundraising gala in March. “Every year in the UK, 60,000 babies are born prematurely, with limited information or research regarding the causes. That’s why I’m looking forward to supporting Borne and its pioneering research program, which I hope will assist thousands of parents and children in the future.”
Beatrice is also the mother of three-year-old Sienna, whom she shares with Edoardo. He has a son, Christopher Woolf, from a previous relationship with Dara Huang, making Beatrice a proud stepmother to the eight-year-old.
In her British Vogue essay, she candidly described the moment she realized that Athena’s birth would not go as planned. “After routine scans, we became aware that our precious cargo needed close monitoring, and understood we had to brace for an early arrival,” she wrote.
“What I learned through this process has been humbling: gaining a deeper understanding of our remarkable human bodies, but also realizing how much we don’t know.” Beatrice noted that despite her royal upbringing, her pregnancy anxieties mirrored those of every other parent.
“Like countless expectant moms, I lay awake in the weeks leading up to the birth, trying to track every movement of the baby and constantly asking myself, ‘What if this happens, or what if that happens?'” she shared. Beatrice concluded by revealing 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.”
