Britain's Princess Beatrice of York (C) her husband Edoardo Mozzi (CL) and children Sienna, Athena and Christopher joins fans lining the Mall waiting to greet the bus carrying the England women's national football team

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice with their daughter Athena at the homecoming parade celebrating England’s women’s national soccer team in London on July 29, 2025.Credit : JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty

 

It’s a special day for Princess Beatrice, as her baby daughter Athena is ringing in her first birthday.

Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi turned 1 on Jan. 22, marking an exciting milestone. Athena is the youngest child of Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and she was born premature in 2025.

Baby Athena was born several weeks early last year, with Buckingham Palace originally announcing an “early spring” due date.

However, it’s understood that the premature arrival was not unexpected, and Princess Beatrice, 37, later reflected on welcoming her daughter early in a rare essay for British Vogue.

“Nothing quite prepares you for the moment when you realize your baby is going to arrive early. There’s so little control,” she began the piece published in March 2025. “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?”

King Charles’ niece said that she “learnt so much from this pregnancy journey” and was aware early on that she “needed to prepare for an early arrival.”

Athena “arrived healthy, a few weeks before her due date,” Beatrice wrote, recalling that her daughter “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.”

Britain's Princess Beatrice of York (C) her husband Edoardo Mozzi (CL) and children Sienna, Athena and Christopher joins fans lining the Mall waiting to greet the bus carrying the England women's national football team during the homecoming victory parade near Buckingham Palace in London on July 29, 2025 to celebrate the team winning Euro 2025

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice with their children in London on July 29, 2025.JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty

The royal thanked her medical team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for the care they provided and announced her new patronage of Borne, a British medical research charity endeavoring to end premature birth.

In a show of support, Beatrice and Edo’s first major public appearance following Athena’s birth was at Borne’s Wonderland Gala in March. Later in the year, she made an emotional return to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to see Borne’s research laboratories and learn more about the organization’s work.

Princess Beatrice, Patron of Borne, during a visit to the Borne research laboratories at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

Princess Beatrice vists Borne research laboratories at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London on Nov. 10, 2025.Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty

Athena’s first middle name honors the late Queen Elizabeth, and her arrival made her family a family of five.

Princess Beatrice and property developer Edo were already parents to daughter Sienna, 4, and his son Christopher Woolf, 9, from a previous relationship.

Over the summer, the couple brought all three kids to the London homecoming victory parade celebrating England’s women’s national soccer team winning the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 in an outing that doubled as Athena’s first public appearance.

Athena was christened in a private ceremony at Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace in December, which her grandparents, the former Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, quietly attended. It marked one of their first joint family gatherings since King Charles stripped his younger brother of his princely title in October amid renewed scrutiny around his relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein.