Princess Beatrice announced her engagement to real estate tycoon Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
in September 2019. The couple's 2020 wedding will no doubt be a glamorous affair, and,
as the princess enters this new chapter of her life, we're taking a jaw-dropping look
at her stunning transformation.
Back in the '80s, on August 8th, 1988, to be exact, Queen Elizabeth II's second-born
son, Prince Andrew, and his wife, Sarah Ferguson, welcomed their oldest daughter. The royal
baby was born at Portland Hospital in London, the very same hospital in which Prince Harry
and Meghan Markle's son Archie would be born some 30 years later. Four days after the princess'
birth, her parents introduced her to the public, but it wouldn't be until over two weeks later
that her name, Beatrice Elizabeth Mary, was announced. The AP confirmed in a 1988 report:
"The name Beatrice, which means bringer of joy, has royal roots. The youngest of Queen
Victoria's nine children was named Princess Beatrice."
"She is really just the finest example of learning about how to deal with life's challenges."
Upon her birth, the Princess of York was fifth in line to the throne. As of 2020, however,
Beatrice has been bumped to ninth in line, making it highly unlikely that she will ever
rule.
Not long after her third birthday, Princess Beatrice started nursery school at the Upton
House School in Windsor. The prestigious nursery and prep school accepts children between the
ages of two and 11 years old, but Beatrice only remained at the school until 1995. She
then went on to attend Coworth Park school.
Beatrice's first day of school photos are all kinds of adorable, but you may not recognize
the princess in them. That's because of her platinum blonde hair. In fact, the duchess
had blonde hair even as a baby. Over time, her locks gradually turned red and began to
resemble her mother Sarah Ferguson's hair.
According to the Duke of York's official site, Princess Beatrice began attending St. George's
School in Ascot, England in 2000 where she quote "completed her A levels in Drama, History
and Film Studies." Beatrice was also named "Head Girl" at the school during her last
year there, a role which requires an appointed young lady from the student body to sometimes
represent the school at public events. If you're a Harry Potter fan, you may be familiar
with the use of the term. As it turns out, Beatrice herself is a Potterhead, and the
books hold a special place in her heart. Beatrice revealed in a video for the Get Reading Festival
in London,
"When I was younger, I was diagnosed with dyslexia which meant, for me, sitting in front
of a book was really hard, until I discovered Harry Potter, and this character, this 11-year-old
boy, who suddenly gets off to school for the first time, captured my imagination and suddenly
reading was fun."
"Those little things, that when you are very young, when you're trying to find your voice
in the world, they can be a big stumbling block."
The princess dubbed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone the quote "book that got [her] reading"
and it remains one of her favorites today.
Princess Beatrice and her younger sister, Princess Eugenie, are only a year and seven
months apart in age. And, they're also very close to each other's hearts. Eugenie told
Vogue,
"We're each other's rocks. We're the only other person in each other's lives who can
know exactly what the other one is going through."
But if you think they've never had a fight, Beatrice revealed that they definitely have.
She told the outlet,
"One of the biggest fights we ever had was about a pair of Converse trainers. We have
the same size feet and both of us had identical pairs. One pair got trashed and the other
sister may have swapped them."
But that's all water under the bridge these days. Beatrice says her little sis is quote
"amazing."
"I mean it's really exciting, you know, we've got so much UK talent."
Beatrice turned heads in 2007 when she walked the runway at London Fashion Week. Ahead of
the event, the then-19-year-old told The Telegraph, quote, "I've never done anything like this
in my life." The princess confirmed it was a charity event and revealed that she would
be accompanied by her mother, Sarah Ferguson. The mother-daughter duo both donned Dolce
& Gabbana gowns and millions of dollars worth of House of Garrard jewelry, including a "Cleopatra"
sapphire.
"It's the perfect evening to dress up and look nice and enjoy some of the greatest rock
stars as well as some of the greatest fashion designers."
Both the princess and the Duchess of York stunned at the event, but it was certainly
not a look we were used to seeing on members of the royal family. Although it was Beatrice's
first foray into fashion, it would not be her last. She has attended several high-fashion
functions in the years since, including a Dior event with her fiancé in 2019.
Eventually Beatrice began to experiment with unique hats and fascinators, like the giant
plum creation she donned on Christmas in 2005. And as she got older, her hats began to take
an even more daring turn. Perhaps it was related to her increasing knowledge of haute couture
or maybe it was just her way of demonstrating her personality, but either way, Beatrice
was stepping it up.
When attending Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly's wedding in 2008, Beatrice wore a kaleidoscope
of butterflies, and in the years after that, she rocked a number of bright-colored headwear
with feathers, bows, and lace. But just because Beatrice enjoys a fanciful fascinator, it
doesn't mean everyone else is a fan, and the princess has definitely taken the heat.
In an interview with Vogue, Eugenie revealed that her sister broke down in tears after
reading a quote "horrible article" about herself. And as Harper's Bazaar deduced, it was likely
a Daily Mail report about the statement fascinator Beatrice wore to Prince William and Kate Middleton's
wedding in April 2011.
"Fifty percent of the people like you, fifty percent don't. Get on and do what you feel.
Stand firm."
Despite developing a passion for fashion, Beatrice rocked an entirely different look
while attending college. In September 2008, the princess began studying at Goldsmiths
College in London, and graduated in 2011 with a degree in history and the history of ideas,
according to the Duke of York's official site. Although Beatrice opted to live on royal grounds
at St. James Palace as opposed to a dorm, she seemed to have a fairly typical college
experience. She told People magazine in 2008,
"It is like [New York University]. The best thing by far has been making new friends."
While it's likely her classmates knew who she was, photo evidence shows Beatrice kept
her royal wardrobe separate from her school clothes. Hey, maybe she was simply dressing
down a little to blend in.
While visiting Spain in the late 2000s, Beatrice and her mom, Sarah Ferguson, were photographed
on an early morning jog. Around that time, the princess had gotten serious about exercise.
Beatrice's personal trainer, Nadya Fairweather, told Life & Style,
"She was a little bit heavier and feeling really badly about herself which is easily
done. It's like living in a fishbowl and everything you do you're being told you're doing it wrong.
It plays on all your insecurities, especially when you're an 18-year-old girl."
Fairweather revealed that the princess trained outdoors in all the elements and never canceled
once, adding,
"She basically started at zero. She'd never run a race when we first met."
"Hopefully we all look good, we're all matching, I think it's gonna look slick."
Beatrice's intense training led to her not only developing a love for running, but becoming
the first member of the royal family to ever run the London marathon in April 2010.
These days, Beatrice is the VP of partnerships and strategy at software company Afiniti,
but initially after graduating college, she took a job as a research analyst for a private
wealth firm, thus beginning a career in finance. But that's not all she was up to at the time.
"You've worked hard, you've got that job, you deserve it. You deserve that seat at the
table."
In 2009, Beatrice appeared in the movie The Young Victoria, which Sarah Ferguson co-produced.
The princess played an unnamed lady-in-waiting, but it was no doubt a memorable experience.
She told The Telegraph,
"It was a great opportunity to recognize the incredibly talented people we have here in
the film industry, working in front of and behind the camera."
Although Beatrice is often photographed dressed to the nines and looking every bit a royal,
she's not always dolled up. In a 2018 profile of Eugenie and Beatrice, Vogue described the
eldest daughter as looking like quote "any other 29-year-old in weekend snooze mode,"
detailing her as "wet-haired, make-up-free, tracksuit-clad and barefoot." She seemed,
well, regular, the same word Beatrice herself used when telling the outlet about her upbringing,
but she's still, and always has been, a princess. Beatrice reflected on their decision to participate
in a Vogue photoshoot, claiming,
"It's hard to navigate situations like these because there is no precedent, there is no
protocol. We are the first: we are young women trying to build careers and have personal
lives, and we're also princesses and doing all of this in the public eye."
Beatrice and Eugenie revealed to Vogue that part of the reason they agreed to be interviewed
is because of the increased attention the younger members of the royal family had been
receiving. Around the time of Beatrice's 30th birthday, the sisters said they felt like
it was a good time to let the public in, adding,
"We want to show people who we are as working, young, royal women, but also not to be afraid
of putting ourselves out there."
One way in which Beatrice has put herself out there is through the anti-cyberbullying
campaign Be Cool, Be Nice.
As she was once a teen with dyslexia, the princess said things had been tough for her,
and she later recognized the need to be quote "supportive of our young people, given that
our world is over-exposed" through social media. She told Vogue,
"[It's] about looking at social media in a new way, how it can enhance your life and
not just be defined by bullies but turned into something positive."
"If I had something like Be Cool, Be Nice when I was growing up, I think that would
feel very, very different and I would feel that support and I would feel like somebody
was listening to me."
Beatrice has likely been given a lot of advice over the years, but there's one tip she finds
particularly valuable. She recalled to Vogue,
"To live your life for you and be able to look in the mirror and know who you are."
Both she and her sister Eugenie recognize the need to be authentic. The younger princess
told the outlet,
"Nowadays, it's so easy to recoil when you see a perfect image on Instagram, but it's
important that it's real. We're real. We're very real."
"I'm pretty excited to continue this family tradition."
However, the royals must tread a fine line between being genuine and revealing too much.
Eugenie claimed that she once posted a picture to Instagram that happened to show a palace
corridor. Apparently, the location wasn't available to the public, and she got into
hot water for it. While she now knows that she can't post those kinds of things, she
also doesn't want to post pictures that are too stuffy. Though finding the perfect balance
is difficult, Beatrice, along with her sister Eugenie, often come across as, in their words,
"real."
"It's really, really good news. Yeah. I'm really, really proud of them both."
When Princess Beatrice marries her fiancé, the affair will be quite a bit different than
past royal weddings, including her sister's. For one, a palace spokesman confirmed to Express
that the couple's wedding will not be paid for with any British taxpayer money. Instead,
the wedding will be entirely privately funded. A close friend of the princess told People
magazine,
"Beatrice and Eugenie are super close, but they are very different. Beatrice is more
serious and Eugenie is the outgoing extrovert, she's so bubbly and fun. Beatrice is more
reserved and discreet. She holds back more, she is very polite, very well-educated but
more formal and quiet in her personality, so I think it will be a very different wedding
to Eugenie's."
Whether her wedding is big or small, we're sure Princess Beatrice will make a beautiful
bride.
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