Royal reflects on fear and relief after early arrival of daughter Athena Elizabeth Rose
Princess Beatrice has broken her silence about the emotional challenges she faced during her second pregnancy, revealing that her daughter Athena Elizabeth Rose was born a few weeks early in January.
In a heartfelt piece written for British Vogue, the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson shared the uncertainty and fear she experienced when her baby arrived ahead of schedule.
“Nothing quite prepares you for the moment when you realise your baby is going to arrive early,” Beatrice wrote. “There’s so little control. Will she arrive healthy? Will there be complications? How will you juggle the rest of family life while trying to keep a tiny human safe and well?”
Despite being under close supervision by a team of medical experts throughout her pregnancy, Beatrice admitted she still carried deep anxiety as the unexpected situation unfolded.
Athena, her second daughter with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, was born healthy but very small. “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,” she wrote, adding a tender detail: “Her feet were so small – almost the same size as the paws on one of my older daughter’s soft bunnies.”
While Beatrice confirmed Athena is now “doing really well,” she revealed that there remains “no precise explanation” for the early birth, making the experience all the more emotionally complex.
Her honest account offers a rare and personal glimpse into the challenges faced behind palace doors—and a touching reminder that even royal mothers face moments of vulnerability and uncertainty.
