When it comes to awkward moments, Princess Beatrice has had more than
her fair share. Strange hats and wardrobe malfunctions are just the tip of the iceberg.
Princess Beatrice was known to have been very close with Queen Elizabeth II. In fact,
for her wedding, Princess Beatrice even wore the famous Fringe Tiara
the Queen had worn at her wedding in 1947. Princess Beatrice said,
"I have two role models, my mother and my grandmother. They are both formidable women."
Despite this endearing rapport, Princess Beatrice was one of the first people to leave
Queen Elizabeth's funeral. In an awkward moment, the whole world saw Princess Beatrice leading her
sister out of Westminster Abbey partway through the service. Their sudden departure caused a bit
of a stir among attendees, who seemed just as surprised as we were to watch them leave.
Though there was a lot of speculation from fans, neither of the princesses has shared
why they chose to exit so suddenly. Though we may never know their reasons for leaving,
it remains one of the most awkward moments that millions of people witnessed.
From the moment her chauffeur pulled up to St. George's Chapel for Princess Eugenie's wedding,
Princess Beatrice had her work cut out for her. Her mom, Sarah Ferguson,
was first out of the car. By the time Princess Beatrice began to ascend the stairs,
her mother had already almost lost her hat — twice! She jogged to catch up with her daughter,
who kept her from getting too distracted with handshakes and conversations along the aisle.
During the ceremony, Princess Beatrice couldn't sit still. She adjusted papers, wrung her hands,
and rocked between each leg. Our best guess is she was nervous about the speech she
would later deliver — which she completely nailed. Watching her fidget in the pews,
one wonders how many other viewers were distracted by the almost constant movement.
After the wedding ceremony, Princess Beatrice and the rest of the wedding party escorted the
newlyweds out to their carriage. On the steps of the chapel, everyone seemed to know their place
to stand ... except Princess Beatrice. She moved away from the group, off to her right, to get a
better view of her sister. To be fair, she looked like she wanted to help Princess Eugenie with the
long wedding train, but she clearly broke the formation. After that, she drifted around on
the landing, seeming unsure where to settle. All in all, this moment definitely made fans wince.
Wardrobe malfunctions are inevitable, even among the royals. Kate Middleton
in particular has become well known for her frequent Marilyn Monroe moments when the wind
accidentally blows her skirt up. Fun fact: Queen Elizabeth apparently prevented this
issue with her own clothing by adding small weights to all of her skirts.
Unfortunately, not all of the royal ladies have followed in the late monarch's footsteps when it
comes to fashion hacks. Princess Beatrice suffered the same wardrobe malfunction
herself in 2012 when she gave a reporter a tour of the Windsor family playhouse.
"Granny and her sister played here growing up,
and we've been lucky enough to play here. It's the most glamorous Wendy house ever!"
While discussing the tiny cottage's history and renovations, the wind rippled the princess' skirt
up off her thighs, giving the camera a glimpse of her dark underwear. Yikes!
Her skirt ballooned ominously again several moments later,
as though it was going to flip up on all sides, but thankfully never did. For her part,
Princess Beatrice seemed so focused on the discussion she didn't even notice. Next time,
we hope the videographer sets the camera a little higher up, just in case.
The princess and her sister both made headlines after wearing bold fascinators to Prince William's
wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011. Of all the fascinators worn by British royals,
Princess Beatrice's huge bow headpiece takes the cake as the most over-the-top accessory.
While women of the royal court usually opt for a few well-placed flowers or feathers,
Beatrice chose something more daring. The hat, which is almost bigger than her face, sat at
eyebrow level, making it look as though she had no eyebrows — or one big, long one. Apparently,
viewers and editorial writers alike banded together to share their distaste for the
interesting choice of hat. Some were reminded of cake decorations, pretzels, or possibly a
toilet seat, while others just considered it generally tacky. Facebook user joked,
"Later she sets the hoop on her hat on fire and has little tigers
jump through it for the amusement of the guests at the reception."
"It does look a bit like a piece of architecture or something!"
This may have been a cringe fashion moment for the princess, but she transformed all
the negative attention into a force for good by auctioning off the hat for charity a month after
the wedding — which sold for a whopping $131,000! She later said during an anti-bullying event,
"When everyone else was saying you look ridiculous, you have to have a sense of
humour. I was able to raise awareness about some incredible issues by using humour."
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2018 wedding was a huge, highly publicized event around the world,
drawing thousands of guests and a record number of viewers — over 29 million people tuned in for the
big day. Though most eyes were on the royal couple that day, camera operators onsite gave audiences a
more candid look at high-profile wedding guests, including most members of the royal family.
During Bishop Michael Curry's famously spirited sermon, the camera roamed around the hall to get
reaction shots from family members. The queen, as usual, was hard to read. The mother of the bride,
like much of the audience, looked earnestly moved. When the camera landed on Princess
Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, though, Beatrice leaned forward and gazed down
the aisle with a smirk. She had an almost mischievous look on her face,
which made us wonder what she was so amused about and, better yet, who she was directing the look
at. Was she trying to catch David Beckham's eye? Or was she trying to get a glimpse of other royal
reactions to the speech? Either way, the camera operator's timing couldn't have been better.