As the House of Windsor prepares for the coronation of King Charles III on May 6, expect a raft of pomp, circumstance and many British royals to descend on Westminster Abbey. But there may be certain faces in the crowd less familiar to American eyes than Charles — including Princess Beatrice.
Who is Beatrice? Royal watchers will be able to immediately place the name — she’s the elder daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York. Beatrice may largely be behind the scenes these days, but over the years she’s broken down a few barriers and even made some headlines of her own, including one for wearing a unique piece of headgear.
What else should we know about Beatrice? Let’s dive into the details.
Princess Beatrice's childhood
Born in 1988, the 34-year-old is one of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughters, making her Charles’ niece. Her father is the second-oldest son of Elizabeth and the late Prince Philip. The Duke and Duchess of York divorced when Beatrice was 7 and raised her jointly afterward.
When she was born, she was fifth in line of succession to the throne, and is now ninth. Her younger sister is Princess Eugenie.
Princess Beatrice's fascinator at Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding
For the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011, Beatrice arrived wearing a pale head fascinator designed by Philip Treacy that rose above her head in a loop, then cascaded down with a fixed ribbon. It was one of the most talked-about outfits of the day, and instantly went viral.
The month after the wedding, it was auctioned off on eBay and raised $131,000. The proceeds went to UNICEF and her mom's charity Children in Crisis.
Princess Beatrice's marriage to husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
Beatrice married property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in July 2020. Their wedding had originally been planned for May 2020, but the pandemic postponed the date and changed the location to the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor — and the nuptials were kept small, private and unannounced ahead of time. Beatrice wore her grandmother’s Queen Mary Fringe Tiara, which the queen had also worn at her wedding.
They have one child together: Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, born in September 2021. Beatrice is also stepmom to Edoardo’s child from a previous relationship, Christopher Woolf, who was born in 2016.
Princess Beatrice's charity work and 'firsts'
Beatrice has done things that simply haven’t been done before by members of the royal family. Some of her breakthroughs: first member of the royal family to appear in a non-documentary film (as an extra) when 2009’s “The Young Victoria,” produced by her mom, was released, according to Vogue; first member of the royal family to compete in the London Marathon (she was raising money for Children in Crisis), in 2010; and along with her sister and mother, she collaborated with contemporary artist Teddy McDonald to create the painting “Royal Love.” All proceeds from the sale went to Children in Crisis.
In addition, she’s a patron, ambassador and founder of numerous charities, and often undertakes physically challenging activities to raise awareness or money for them. She climbed Mont Blanc for charity in 2012, and as part of the Virgin Strive Challenge, she climbed Mount Etna with Richard Branson and his children in 2016, per People.
While her charity work is largely dedicated to children’s organizations, she also does good charitable work dealing with dyslexia. She is a patron of the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity, which notes on its website that she was diagnosed with the learning disability when she was 7.