Birth and baptism
8 is regarded by the Chinese as a very special, lucky number. And sure enough, 8/8/88 was a very special day, for on this day was born Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York, eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York and big sister to Princess Eugenie!
In a 2001 interview with Gyles Brandreth for the Telegraph, the Duchess shared her memories of Beatrice's birth: "Beatrice had to be induced. I was married to a naval husband, a serving officer who only got two weeks’ shore leave for the baby. There was no special treatment. He was based in Hong Kong and came back for a fortnight and the baby had to be born then... Andrew nearly fainted when he saw the epidural needle. He was holding my hand when I was having it done. He’s a deeply sensitive person. He’s so sweet. He’s so kind".
Initially referred to only as "Baby Yorklet" (so sweet, so Sarah!), she was eventually revealed to the world almost two weeks later as Princess Beatrice - a name with past Royal pedigree, specifically Queen Victoria's youngest daughter (1857-1944). Recently, some reports have claimed the Duke and Duchess had considered the name "Annabel", only to have the Queen kibosh it as "too yuppie", but there is no confirmation of this story.
The little Princess was was baptised in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace on 20 December 1988, her godparents being Viscount Linley (her father's cousin, now the 2nd Earl of Snowdon), the Duchess of Roxburghe (now Lady Jane Dawnay), Peter Palumbo, Gabrielle Greenall and Carolyn Cotterell.
Childhood
Beatrice grew up mostly at Sunninghill Park in the loving embrace of her parents and her little sister Eugenie (born 23 March 1990). Beatrice was always an animal lover, and enjoyed riding her ponies on the Sunninghill estate and playing with the family's beloved Norfolk terriers. For her 13th birthday, she was given a Norfolk puppy of her own, which she named Max. Another important part of Beatrice's childhood were the family ski trips to Klosters or Verbier. Like her mother, she learned to ski at a young age and developed a lifelong love of the sport.
The two York sisters always had a close relationship, which for a long time was reflected even in their clothes, as the Duchess dressed them in identical outfits. In 2001, Sarah told the Telegraph: "Beatrice wanted to dress like her sister. When she said she didn’t want to anymore, I changed it. She loved it to a certain point".
As in most upper-class families, the girls had a nanny - first Alison Wardley and then later a lady called Ellie. But this certainly didn't distance them from their mother. Sarah remembers: "I went into that room [the nursery] with my children and that was it. No one could get me. We were safe. And I was playing. I had magic. I did colouring, we watched telly. I loved it because I could absorb myself totally with my children. And then at seven o’clock it was bath time and then at 7.30, every single night – come what may – we would pile into one or other daughter’s bed and read three books".
In fact, Beatrice later credited her parents reading to her as being what sparked a lifelong love of books, in spite of the severe dyslexia she has. This culminated in Her Royal Highness becoming a patron and judge of Oscar's Book Prize, which celebrates children's books.
In a 2017 interview with People magazine, the Princess spoke about how her parents fostered in her a love of stories, and this helped her overcome her dyslexia: "Reading was really hard work, even trying to get through the pages of some of the simple school reading books. I could not understand why I was still reading behind my classmates. It was at this point that stories became one of the key things which inspired me".
Among the stories that inspired her as a child were her own mother's "Budgie the Little Helicopter" stories, based a fantasy-world version of her father's job as a naval helicopter pilot. Looking back, she says: "To this day, these stories make me think back, with the fondest memories, to a time when books would take me into the best adventures and fill my mind with the best images.”
Even her hard-working Royal parents' travels couldn't get in the way of the stories: "If my parents ever traveled they would take time to record some of my favorite books on tape and I would listen to their voices as I fell asleep. [It’s] one of my favorite memories from storytime with my parents".
Education
Her Royal Highness started her education in 1991 at Upton House School in Windsor, just a short distance from the family home (and her granny's castle!), and continued at Coworth Park Prep School. Like most children of Britain's privileged elite, Beatrice enjoyed a traditional boarding school education - in her case, at the prestigious St. George's School in Ascot.
St. George's is a single-sex independent school for girls, set in 30 acres of grounds bordering on Windsor Great Park, where her family home, Royal Lodge was located. Beatrice was a weekly boarder, at a cost of around £20,000 a year, returning across the park to Royal Lodge each weekend. Her parents were strong supporters of the school, with the Duchess becoming one of St. George's governors.
Due to her severe dyslexia, the Princess' studies were far from easy, and she was forced to delay taking her GCSEs for a year. However, she worked incredibly hard and showed amazing perseverance, and she eventually got her reward by passing all her GCSEs with good grades, and going on to achieve superb A-Level results - an A in drama, and B grades in history and film studies!
For her final year at St. George's, HRH was given an important accolade. In a ballot of all teachers and girls, she was elected Head Girl for the 2005/06 academic year. This shows how highly she was regarded by staff and fellow pupils. Even at 17, she was already seen as a leader and a role model to her peers. Furthermore, after making the decision the previous year (in consultation with her mother) to go public with her dyslexia, she was also an inspiration to any student, regardless of their background, who was struggling with the same condition.
On 8th August 2006, HRH formally entered adulthood with a lavish Victorian-themed 18th birthday party for 500 guests at Windsor Castle. The sumptuous masked ball was inspired by the idea that the previous Princess Beatrice had been a daughter of Queen Victoria. In a nod to her 8/8/88 birthday, the party was "set" in the year 1888.
The birthday girl looked absolutely stunning in a specially-made Marchesa dress with intricate gold embroidery, plunge neckline and bustle. The gown, worth £10,000 and flown in specially from New York, was a birthday gift to the Princess from the fashion house, which is owned by her mother's friend Georgina Chapman. As you can see from the photos, all three York ladies looked absolutely exquisite as they celebrated this joyful coming of age!
University studies and business career
All Beatrice's hard work at school now bore fruit, as thanks to the excellent A-Levels she achieved, she was accepted to one of the UK's top universities, Goldsmiths College in London.
Before starting her course, she took a well-deserved break from academic studies, opting to spend a year out seeing the world. Travel can open our eyes to new ways of seeing the world, and help us grow and mature. Beatrice's gap-year destinations included Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, the USA and the Caribbean. There's no doubt in my mind that this must have a been an incredibly valuable and enriching experience for the young Princess.
In September 2008, she began her degree course at Goldsmiths in History and History of Ideas, graduating three years later with an excellent 2:1 grade Bachelor of Arts with honours.
One memorable moment from this period of her life was in 2009, when she achieved yet another Royal first -this time becoming the first member of her exalted family to act in a major movie! The film in question was her mother's pet project, The Young Victoria, of which the Duchess was executive producer. Beatrice made a cameo in the coronation scene, while Emily Blunt played her illustrious ancestor, to whom the Princess has a striking resemblance. The cast and director were all said to be highly impressed by HRH's natural talent as an actress!
Since graduating, Beatrice has had a number of prestigious jobs in the international business world. Her first opportunity came in the non-profit sector, working as a research associate for her mother's charity Children In Crisis. This valuable experience enabled her to land a role at top investment firm Cabot Square Capital, which involved an exciting move to New York. Her next challenge came as an international production analyst at Sony Pictures.
Beatrice's current position is at Afiniti, a top management consultant, where she holds the prestigious title of Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy. The company uses artificial intelligence to improve the effectiveness of call-centre businesses. According to their website, Beatrice's role is to oversee "management of the strategic Afiniti partnerships as well as company growth through unique initiatives and client development".
The Princess is conscious of her responsibilities as a role model to other women who are aiming for successful careers in the traditionally male-dominated business and technology sectors. To this end, she has spoken at a number of conferences on this subject, including the Women4Tech Event in Barcelona in February 2019.
She told the audience how she had realised that "working for a technology company I could begin to make a difference in challenging gender norms, especially when it comes to technology, an area that has a reputation for being a boys club". She asserted her conviction that "empowering women is essential for creating jobs, growth and innovation.”
Charity work
Although HRH is not a full-time working Royal, she has been brought up to be keenly aware of the responsibilities that come with her Royal blood. She is fully committed to an array of different charities, which she supports in her free time, alongside her full-time business career. She and her sister Eugenie have emulated the hard work and dedication of their parents in order to successfully combine jobs and duties.
Beatrice's charity patronages include Street Child UK (alongside her mother, the Duchess of York), the York Musical Society, the Edinburgh Children's Hospital, the Bromwood African Education Foundation, York Theatre Royal, the Teenage Cancer Trust (with her mother and sister) the English National Ballet, the Outward Bound Trust and so many more. One patronage that is particularly close to her heart, considering her own struggles as a child, is the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre, and she has spoken wonderfully about her experience as a dyslexic, using her position and her own life story to inspire others.
One charity with a special place in her heart is Big Change, which she co-founded with best friend Holly Branson and others. It is focussed on education, a topic that Beatrice is really passionate about. According to their website: "We are a charity tackling causes not symptoms. We challenge assumptions and explore opportunities. Learn what change is needed and target action where it’s most transformational". Their current focus areas include early years development, inclusion and empowering teachers as leaders and agents of change.
In 2010, to raise money for her mother's charity Children in Crisis, Beatrice made history as the first ever Royal to run a marathon. She completed the London course as part of a 34-person "Caterpillar", creating a new world record for T E highest number of people to run a marathon tied together. Her fellow runners included Sam and Holly Branson, and her then-boyfriend Dave Clark. What a beautiful moment it was to see her at the finish line, with such emotion in her face, hugging her proud mum, Sarah!
Another incredible achievement in aid of charity came in 2012, when HRH and 5 friends climbed the 4,810-metre Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe. Again, the Branson family were involved, with Holly, brother Sam and father Sir Richard taking part. Beatrice described her emotions to Hello! Magazine: "The summit was like a dream. It was so overwhelming I began to cry with joy for making it to this magical world at the top of Europe."
Final thoughts
There is a lot to admire about Princess Beatrice. She is smart, beautiful, hard-working and compassionate. She overcame the challenges of dyslexia to achieve a great education, and then went on to a highly successful business career. Furthermore, she has used her status as a high-profile female executive in the technology sector, to campaign on behalf of the empowerment of women in business and STEM fields. She is also fiercely passionate about her charity work, representing her chosen causes with energy and enthusiasm.
She is a style icon, often willing to take risks with her fashion choices - glamorous, playful or elegant as the occasion demands. She was responsible for one of the most famous Royal fashion memes, with the spectacular Philip Treacey hat she wore to the wedding of TRH the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. When the fun crossed the line into ridicule, she turned the publicity to her advantage, selling the hat to raise £81,100 for Children in Crisis. Once again, she was setting an example, using her position to benefit others.
Another thing to admire is the way in which Beatrice has successfully navigated the challenges of combining her Royal status with a business career. In a 2018 Vogue piece, alongside her sister, Beatrice emphasised the extent to which they are both bravely exploring new territory in the Royal Family: "We are the first: we are young women trying to build careers and have personal lives, and we’re also princesses and doing all of this in the public eye".
This is something the media singularly fail to recognise when they criticise the York sisters: that these are young women with obligations and responsibilities on two sides - as private citizens with careers, and as Princesses of the Realm with all that that implies - duty, service to their grandmother and their country, and the inevitable intrusion into their private lives.
The way that certain tabloids and "commentators" portray Beatrice and Eugenie - as pampered, work-shy socialites who are constantly on holiday - is so far from reality as to be laughable, but it must be incredibly hurtful for them to be seen in this way. For this reason, it's important for those of us who admire them to spread the word - that these are two beautiful, intelligent, compassionate ladies, making a real difference in the world.
In the poem that the Duchess of York wrote for her daughters in "Finding Sarah", she describes her hopes for how they will rise to the challenges of their exalted position: "I dream my daughters walk with strength as they inspire, and lead by example of Goodness, Kindness, Humour, Respect, Dignity and solid Integrity to themselves".
For me, they could not have done a better job of living up to this ideal. (Although in this article I'm concentrating on Beatrice, I hope to also pay tribute to Eugenie's own special qualities and achievements in a future post!)
Beatrice is indeed a leader - as a Princess, a humanitarian and a businesswoman. She lives her life with decency and integrity, always aware of the responsibilities that come hand in hand with her privileged status. Like her parents and her sister, she is a positive role model, inspiring us to better things.
All three York ladies have a special place in my heart, but this time, to celebrate her birthday, I wanted to put the focus on Beatrice - to give an overview of her life, recognise her many achievements and pay tribute to her as a person. And finally, I'd like to express my gratitude: Thank you, Your Royal Highness, for all that you do! Remember that you are loved and admired by so many people, and I'm proud to be one of them!
