Princess Beatrice cried ‘tears of relief’ after baby Athena was born pre-term – as royal opens up about her ‘humbling’ second pregnancy

Princess Beatrice has revealed she cried ‘tears of relief’ after her daughter Athena Rose Elizabeth was born pre-term in a rare update about her ‘humbling’ second pregnancy. 

The King’s niece, 36, and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, welcomed the newest addition to their family in January, when baby Athena was born several weeks premature. 

Now, Beatrice has opened up about her pregnancy journey after she was informed the family needed to prepare for an early birth, in a poignant first-person essay for Vogue. 

‘What I learnt in this process has been humbling: understanding so much more about our remarkable human bodies, but also, more than anything, what we don’t know,’ Beatrice wrote. 

The royal said she endured many sleepless nights in the run-up to Athena’s birth, worrying about her well-being and fretting over the aspects she couldn’t control.

When her second daughter arrived healthy on January 22, ‘a few weeks before her due date,’ Beatrice was overwhelmed by how ‘tiny’ Athena was – comparing the size of her feet to the ‘paws’ on a stuffed toy. 

‘She was so tiny it took more than a few weeks for the tears of relief to dry and for life with our healthy baby to feel real,’ the mother-of-two explained. 

‘Her feet were so small – almost the same size as the paws on one of my older daughter’s soft bunnies.’ 

The King’s niece, 36, and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi , welcomed the newest addition to their family in January, when baby Athena (above) was born several weeks premature

The essay was accompanied by a new photograph of Beatrice cradling Athena protectively in her arms, with the newborn draped in a soft pink blanket. 

Another picture showed Edoardo, 41, holding Athena while gazing down at her face lovingly.  

Athena is the third child in the Mapelli Mozzi brood alongside Beatrice’s three-year-old daughter Sienna, and Wolfie, eight, from Edo’s relationship with Dara Huang. Princess Beatrice often describes Wolfie as her ‘bonus’ child.

She also confirmed that Athena is ‘now doing really well’ while expressing her determination to ‘help others find answers’ to questions about the complications of pre-term pregnancies in her new role as patron of Borne – a UK charity on a mission to end premature birth. 

She described the patronage as ‘a very personal appointment’ and that Beatrice was committed to helping and supporting as many other families through some of the challenges she and Edoardo confronted. 

Beatrice also highlighted how ‘nothing feels more vital than facilitating the health challenges that women face daily’ after her mother, the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson’s back-to-back cancer diagnoses. 

Sarah, 65, underwent a mastectomy and reconstruction surgery in 2023, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

In 2024, she announced she’d been diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer. She then underwent further surgery, around the edges of the site of the mole and lymph nodes, as doctors said it appeared the cancer had not spread. 

Referring to Sarah’s health challenges, Beatrice wrote: ‘Maybe it’s to do with getting a little older, and hopefully a little wiser – or maybe it’s something to do with my mother’s breast and skin cancer diagnosis last year – but for me, nothing feels more vital than facilitating the necessary research into the health challenges that women face daily.’ 

Edoardo and Beatrice at the Borne Wonderland gala, where she was named the premature birth charity’s newest patron 

The essay was published weeks after Beatrice made her first official appearance since giving birth to Athena, with the royal stepping out for Borne’s Wonderland gala accompanied by Edoardo earlier this month. 

Her patronage was announced at the fundraising gala for the UK charity that funds research to advance knowledge of pregnancy and childbirth, improve the lives of mothers and babies, and prevent preterm birth. 

The Duke and Duchess of York’s daughter put on an elegant display for her first engagement as Borne’s patron, with Beatrice picking an all-cream ensemble for the event. 

Photographed arm-in-arm with her husband, the late Queen’s granddaughter teamed a fashionable silk skirt with a chic long sleeved blazer, featuring button and bow detailing. 

She teamed her stylish outfit with a pair of beige heels while carrying a cream clutch bag to complement her ensemble.

With her hair styled in soft curls, Beatrice opted for a glamorous makeup look, completed with bright blush and pink lipstick.

Her husband looked equally sophisticated in a black tie outfit as he posed up a storm with his glamorous wife.

Commenting on her new role, the Princess said: ‘The work that Borne is undertaking is something that is incredibly close and personal to me following the recent birth of my daughter.

Athena is the third child in the Mapelli Mozzi brood alongside Beatrice’s three-year-old daughter Sienna, and Wolfie, eight, from Edo’s relationship with Dara Huang. Princess Beatrice often describes Wolfie (above) as her ‘bonus’ child.

‘Every year in the UK, 60,000 babies are delivered too soon, with little information or research as to why this is.

‘That is why I am really looking forward to supporting Borne and its programme of groundbreaking research, which I hope will help thousands of parents and children in the future.’

Princess Beatrice joins a distinguished group of Borne patrons, including Will Greenwood MBE and Caro Greenwood, Dame Darcey Bussell DBE, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and Erin O’Connor MBE, all of whom share a personal connection to the cause.