Happy Thursday! Today, August 8, Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York – or just Bea – turns 31. To celebrate, I thought I’d skim her life and tell you a few fast facts you might not know about the ninth in line to the throne.
· Again, if you think we wait a long time for Royal baby names now, that’s nothing compared to the 1980s, when most of the Queen’s grandchildren were born. The public waited two weeks to learn Beatrice’s name. Beatrice, the firstborn of Prince Andrew and Duchess Sarah (aka “Fergie”), was, at the time of her birth, fifth in line to the throne – Prince Louis’ current position.
· She was diagnosed with dyslexia at age seven and went public with her diagnosis in 2005.
· As a student, she sang in the school choir.
· She’s a natural redhead.
· She has a degree in history from Goldsmith College in London.
· Beatrice has had a number of jobs throughout her life, some of them unpaid. In 2008, she volunteered as a sales assistant at Selfridges, a high-end department store in the U.K. She also worked at the Foreign Office’s press office unpaid. She is even an actress herself, appearing in 2009’s The Young Victoria as a non-speaking extra. The movie chronicles the early reign of her ancestor Queen Victoria. She was a paid intern at Sony but resigned after that infamous hacking scandal in 2014; she then moved to New York City, and splits her time between the Big Apple and her hometown of London.
· Professionally, she’s just Beatrice York. Her job now is as Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy at Afiniti. While she does have patronages and does do some Royal work, she is not a full-time “employee” of the Royal Family.
· She’s had a few high-profile relationships in the past – most especially Virgin Galactic businessman Dave Clark a few years ago – but is now reportedly deeply in love with Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Their first official Royal family event together was the wedding of Beatrice’s second cousin Lady Gabriella Windsor earlier this year.
· She is the first member of the Royal Family to complete the London Marathon.
· Her much-belied fascinator from William and Kate’s wedding sold for 81,000 pounds on eBay. She donated all of the proceeds to two charities: UNICEF and Children in Crisis.
· Just like Kate and Meghan, Beatrice also has her own patronages, including Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, the York Musical Society, and the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre.
· She, along with six of her friends, founded Big Change, a charity that encourages young people to develop skills “outside a traditional academic curriculum.” To support the charity, she has moved mountains – or, rather, climbed them: She has scaled Mont Blanc and Mount Etna, the latter with Richard Branson.
She’s a really cool girl who seems relatively normal despite being a high-ranking member of the Firm. Beatrice, The Duchess Commentary hopes your thirty-first year brings you happiness, joy, and the chance to continue to do some good.
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