Beatrice has revealed her daughter’s premature birth was ‘humbling.’
Princess Beatrice spoke on the impact her daughter’s birth several weeks premature had.
Athena Elizabeth Rose, Beatrice’s second child, was born on January 22 and is 11th in line to the throne.
In an essay for British Vogue, Beatrice said she endured ‘months of sheer worry’ during her pregnancy.
She said women’s health had ‘been left off the agenda’ in the past.
Little Athena was ‘so tiny it took more than a few weeks for the tears of relief to dry,’ Beatrice wrote, adding that her daughter was ‘doing really well.’
The 36-year-old princess wrote: ‘Nothing quite prepares you for the moment when you realise your baby is going to arrive early. There’s so little control.
‘The uncertainty leaves you with an overwhelming fear of the unknown.’
She had been due to give birth in early spring.
Beatrice, the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson and ninth in line to the throne, was appointed as the new patron of prematurity charity Borne earlier this month.
She continued: ‘Following routine scans we became aware our precious cargo needed close monitoring, and understood we needed to prepare for an early arrival.
‘What I learnt in this process has been humbling.’
Beatrice and her property developer husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 41, began to prepare for the possible early birth after she received medical advice in December warning her not to travel long distances.
This upended the couple’s Christmas plans as she had been planning to travel overseas.
Instead, Beatrice was seen attending the annual Christmas Day church mass in Sandringham with most of the Royal Family.
Both Athena and Beatrice’s first-born Sienna, three, have Elizabeth as a middle name to honour the late Queen.
Beatrice and Mozzi tied the knot at a secret Windsor wedding on July 19, 2020, during the Covid pandemic after dating for about a year.
The couple were seen smiling at the camera next to the Queen and Prince Philip. Prince Philip passed away the following spring at the age of 99.
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The Royal Family has faced a year of upheaval after King Charles’ cancer diagnosis, followed by Kate Middleton’s treatment for the illness.
The Princess of Wales confirmed in January she is ‘now in remission’ from cancer.
The King, 75, has been undergoing ‘regular treatments’ since his diagnosis in February last year, Buckingham Palace said.
In December, Queen Camilla contracted pneumonia after a long-haul trip to Australia and Samoa, forcing her to pull out of royal engagements while she recovered.
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