Sisters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie gave birth just seven months apart, but their birth statements took different approaches.
Congratulations are in order for Princess Beatrice, who shared with the world today that she and husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, welcomed a baby daughter late on Saturday night. The news was announced this afternoon on the royal family's official social media accounts, and revealed that the newest royal baby weighed just six pounds, two ounces at birth.
"Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are delighted to announce the safe arrival of their daughter on Saturday 18th September 2021, at 23.42, at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London," the notice on Twitter read, before directing well-wishers towards the official royal website for the full statement.
While it's tradition for the monarchy to announce new additions to the royal family this way, there was something slightly different about Princess Beatrice's birth statement. In full, it read:
"Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are delighted to announce the safe arrival of their daughter on Saturday 18th September 2021, at 23.42, at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London.The baby weighs 6 pounds and 2 ounces.The new baby’s grandparents and great-grandparents have all been informed and are delighted with the news. The family would like to thank all the staff at the hospital for their wonderful care.Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well, and the couple are looking forward to introducing their daughter to her big brother Christopher Woolf."
The sentiments in the announcement are lovely, particularly the thanks directed towards the hospital staff who helped bring Edo and Beatrice's daughter into the world. However, there's one obvious thing missing from the announcement: any specific reference to members of the royal family. Usually, individual royals are name-checked in such statements - especially the Queen - but it's surprising to see this statement wrap them all up into one very general group term; "the new baby’s grandparents and great-grandparents".
When Beatrice's sister, Princess Eugenie, gave birth to her son August in February this year, the statement included a line that said: "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of York, Sarah, Duchess of York, and Mr and Mrs George Brooksbank have been informed and are delighted with the news."
Similarly, Prince William and Kate Middleton's birth announcements have also featured a specific reference to the Queen and other family members' reactions to the news. This time around, however, there was no mention by name of Princess Beatrice's parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, nor her grandmother the Queen.
It's not clear exactly why this is, however some may speculate that it might have something to do with the lawsuit currently surrounding Prince Andrew. The Duke of York's friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has seen him swarmed in controversy over the past few years, with one woman, Virginia Giuffre, alleging that she was brought to the UK aged 17 by Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell to have sex with the royal.
Prince Andrew has strenuously denied the claims, insisting during his controversial 2019 Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis that he had no recollection of meeting her. However, Virginia Giuffre recently filed a civil lawsuit against the Duke of York, and there's been back-and-forth ever since about whether the royal had officially been served the papers.
In the wake of all that, it might have been preferable for Princess Beatrice and her husband Edo to keep any specific names out of their daughter's birth announcement, so as not to cloud a very happy moment for them.
Congratulations to the couple, and we can't wait to see a picture of the newest royal baby in town.
