Princess Beatrice normalises uncommon practice months after giving birth to premature baby
Princess Beatrice has proven quite the trend-setter this week by normalising a rather unconventional parenting practice.
The 36-year-old became a mother-of-two earlier this year, welcoming her second child with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
The royal couple - who are also parents to three-year-old daughter Sienna - announced the arrival of another baby girl, Athena, on 29 January, revealing the tot had been born prematurely.
Buckingham Palace went on to share further details surrounding the birth, revealing the child's full name is Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi and she was born at 12.57pm at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.
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The palace's official statement added at the time that The King and Queen were 'delighted' for the couple.
Princess Beatrice has remained predominantly out of the spotlight since Athena's unexpectedly early birth.
This week, however, she was spotted at the 2025 Matrix Awards in New York City.
In several photographs from the high-profile event, the flame-haired princess could be seen donning a black cocktail dress with silver embellished bows, designed by Rebecca Vallance.
The gown also consisted of some elaborate puff-sleeves and a figure-hugging middle.
It turns out, however, that the dress also broke something of a societal taboo, and royal norms.
That's because Beatrice previously used the same gown as maternity-wear. She was spotted in the same super-glam get-up back in October - just three months before she was due to give birth.
She wore the best-selling number at an event at Gaia, Mayfair, for the designer's collection launch, marking somewhat of a rarity in upper-class society.
In the months following her daughter's birth, Beatrice has only opened up about the realities of a premature arrival on a handful of occasions.
In a self-written essay published in Vogue in March, she recalled of her labour: "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?"
The princess continued: "You know that when your baby arrives the doctors and midwives are going to be there, doing everything they can to ensure she makes it through those challenging first few days.
"But you have no idea how these things will play out, what happens next. The uncertainty leaves you with an overwhelming fear of the unknown."
The mother-of-two added, however, that she's grateful for everything she learned from her experience.
"Understanding so much more about our remarkable human bodies, but also, more than anything, what we don’t know," Beatrice said.
"In many ways, for the longest time, women’s health has been left off the agenda.
"You can try and plan as much as possible with pregnancy, but sometimes your body - or your baby - has other ideas, which in some cases can lead to a preterm birth.
"Thankfully, with ever evolving technology in the hands of knowledgeable doctors, midwives and nurses, more progress is being made every day towards understanding the unique complications that can accompany a preterm pregnancy."
Topics: Princess Beatrice, Royal Family, UK News
Rhianna Benson