by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Princess Beatrice of York was born on August 8, 1988, at 8:18 pm at Portland Hospital in London, England. She is the elder of the two daughters of Prince Andrew, Duke of York and his former wife née Sarah Ferguson. Princess Beatrice has a younger sister, Princess Eugenie (born 1990). As male-line grandchildren of a British sovereign, Beatrice and Eugenie have the style Royal Highness and the title Princess and they used the name of the area over which her father holds his dukedom, York, in their title until their marriages.

Princess Beatrice was christened on December 20, 1988, in the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace in London, England by John Habgood, Archbishop of York. She was given the names Beatrice (after the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria), Elizabeth (after her paternal grandmother), and Mary (after Queen Mary, her great-great-great-grandmother). Her godparents were:

• David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon (her father’s first cousin)
• Peter Palumbo, Baron Palumbo (her maternal grandfather’s friend)
• The Duchess of Roxburghe (the former Lady Jane Grosvenor, later Lady Jane Dawnay)
• The Honourable Mrs. John Greenall (her mother’s friend, the former Gabrielle James)
• Mrs. Henry Cotterell (her mother’s friend, the former Carolyn Beckwith-Smith)

Princess Beatrice has one sibling:

• Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Jack Brooksbank (born 1990), married Jack Brooksbank, had two sons

Princess Beatrice started her schooling in 1991 at Upton House School in Windsor, Berkshire, England. In 1995, Beatrice began attending Coworth Park School in Windlesham, Surrey, England which merged in 2004 with Flexlands School to become Coworth Flexlands School.  From 2000-2007, Beatrice attended St. George’s School in Ascot, Berkshire, England. She completed A-levels in Drama, History, and Film Studies, and in her final year, she was Head Girl.  In September 2008, Beatrice started a three-year course studying for a Bachelors degree in History and History of Ideas at Goldsmiths College, University of London, England graduating in 2011.

On her 18th birthday, Beatrice said she wanted to use her position to assist others through charity work. In 2007, she became a global ambassador for Children in Crisis, a charity founded by her mother, Sarah, Duchess of York, whose goal is to help educate children and women in some of the poorest countries. In April 2010, Beatrice became the first member of the Royal Family to complete the London Marathon. She ran with friends as part of Team Caterpillar to raise money for several charities including Children in Crisis.

In 2010, Princess Beatrice and six friends founded The Big Change Charitable Trust which identifies and supports projects that improve the lives of young people. The Big Change works in partnership with charitable projects throughout the United Kingdom which inspire and encourage young people to be the very best that they can be. In September 2012, Beatrice and her fellow founders climbed Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps in The Big Change’s first fundraising project: The Big Climb.

Beatrice is involved with other organizations including:

• York Musical Society (Patron)
• York Theatre Royal (Patron)
• The Sick Kids Friends Foundation (Patron)
• Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice (Patron)
• Broomwood African Education Foundation (Patron)
• The Berkshire Community Foundation (Patron)
• Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre (Patron, Princess Beatrice is dyslexic)
• Teenage Cancer Trust (Ambassador)

In 2009, Princess Beatrice appeared as an extra, portraying a lady-in-waiting, in the film The Young Victoria which focused on the early reign of Queen Victoria, and her marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are Beatrice’s great-great-great grandparents.

Princess Beatrice was in a long-term relationship with Dave Clark, a Virgin Galactic businessman,  from 2007 – 2016. The couple met at a birthday party for Sean Brosnan, the son of actor Pierce Brosnan.

 

Beatrice attended a fundraising event in March 2019 at the National Portrait Gallery in London, accompanied by Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, a multi-millionaire property tycoon and the son of Alessandro (Alex) Mapelli Mozzi, a former British Olympian in Alpine Skiing.  It is believed that the couple started dating in 2018.  In May 2019, Beatrice and Edoardo attended their first royal family event together, the wedding of Beatrice’s second cousin once removed, Lady Gabriella Windsor.

On September 26, 2019, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of  Princess Beatrice to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Beatrice and Edoardo’s wedding, scheduled for May 29, 2020, was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Beatrice and Edoardo were married in a private ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, on the grounds of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, on July 17, 2020.

• Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

Beatrice and Edoardo have one daughter:

• Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi (born 2021)

On October 1, 2024, it was announced that Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are expecting their second child early in the new year.

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