Princess Beatrice: 20 Facts About One of the Coolest Royals

The tiny child pictured here squeezed into a heavy-looking dress is Queen Victoria's youngest child, Princess Beatrice. When the Duchess of York was pregnant, it's said she combed the family tree for baby name inspiration and ultimately named her firstborn after the ancestor, who died in 1944.

Princess Beatrice's middle names are Elizabeth and Mary, and both have family connections as well (no surprise there). She was named Elizabeth after her grandmother, the current queen, and Mary for her great-grandmother, who was queen when then-Princess Elizabeth was growing up.

The young royal can probably revisit her family's history anytime she wants, given that she regularly visits the places where her ancestors lived. But Princess Beatrice also got a feel for what it must have been like back in the 19th century when she made a brief appearance in the movie Young Victoria. Beatrice donned a ballgown and fancy updo to play one of her great-great-great grandmother's ladies in waiting in the coronation scene. The movie was released in 2009, which was one year before her cousin-in-law, Meghan Markle, made her own film debut.

Princess Beatrice has been quoted as saying that the Queen is one of the two women she admires most (the other is her mom). They went to church together on Beatrice's 30th birthday in 2018, they're often seen chatting together at events, and it's said that the princess loves Balmoral, the Queen's summer retreat in Scotland, almost as much as the monarch herself. (She even included thistle plants in her wedding china, as a nod to Balmoral.) Their bond may have something to do with the rumor that her dad, Prince Andrew, is the Queen's favorite, and Beatrice is Andrew's eldest daughter.

The current global health issue that needs no introduction forced Beatrice to postpone her wedding indefinitely, but then, the palace released pictures from surprise nuptials attended only by a few close family members — including Queen Elizabeth, who came out of quarantine for it. If that's not proof of their major bond, we don't know what is.

Oh wait, we do...

Those surprise wedding pictures? Yeah, they definitely had a few more Easter eggs — like the fact that Beatrice used one of the Queen's gowns Queen Elizabeth, which she wore to a movie opening in the 1960s — as her wedding dress, with just a few modifications. Her tiara also took our breath away: It was the Queen's own wedding tiara, and the only other royal who has worn it is Princess Anne. Talk about special.

Before our new normal because, welp, our new normal, Beatrice's wedding was supposed to take place at St. James' Palace, at the Chapel Royal. Nothing terribly exciting, as it was going to be smallish and not televised, but the wedding reception was to be grand indeed — and at Buckingham Palace, the Queen's house. The last couple to have their reception there? Future king Prince William and Kate Middleton, in 2011.

Princess Beatrice may have a high public profile, but it's nothing compared to that of her cuz William and Kate Middleton's, or Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's back in the day. That's because, although she's the Queen's granddaughter, she is not a working royal and does not represent the Queen in any official capacity.

Princess Beatrice's dad, Prince Andrew, wanted her and her sister, Princess Eugenie, to have official (read: paid) roles in the royal family. But king-to-be Prince Charles and the Queen nipped that idea in the bud, because they wanted to keep the number of people on the royal cash teat to a minimum. (What a concept!) The decision embittered Andrew, though Beatrice herself has never said a word about it.

Oh, no. Princess Beatrice's royal status did not mean that she was totally worry-free when it comes to money before she married a millionaire. Yes, her dad got a stipend from the Queen while he was a working royal, and yes, her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, is said to have left her some money, but Beatrice has a paying job. She is vice president of partnerships & strategy at a software company called Afiniti, where she is "responsible for the management of the strategic Afiniti partnerships as well as company growth through unique initiatives and client development," the company website says — though what exactly that means is a bit of a mystery.

One title that Princess Beatrice was born with, though — working royal or not — is that of Her Royal Highness. That's because she was born to a child of the monarch, though one exception was Zara Phillips, whose mother, Princess Anne, turned down the princess title for her daughter. Not that that pays the bills, though, or provides her with paid security, but it does mean that people bow to her — including, technically, Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, if they see Beatrice without their husbands, who outrank her.

Not everyone with a disability or learning disorder is willing to talk about it, and we respect their privacy. Princess Beatrice, though, has been open about her struggles with the condition, which makes it harder to read. She's done several videos for a foundation dedicated to dyslexia, and has said: "Being diagnosed with dyslexia was the greatest thing that ever happened to me because it allowed me to become part of this community of people that really are championing young people's education and making sure that we protect our young people in school and in life."

Good for her.

We wouldn't be surprised if y'all didn't remember who was under that crazy fascinator that almost stole ALL of the limelight at Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, but it was indeed Princess Beatrice. Made by famed milliner Phillip Treacy, it was ridiculed worldwide (nicknames: the toilet hat, and the fallopian tube hat), and even had a Facebook page dedicated to it. But Beatrice had a sense of humor about it and auctioned it off a month later for charity.

... for $130,000.

Their parents' marriage might have gone down the tubes, but Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are two peas in a pod. That's actually in part because their family lived together in relative peace in a countryside manor despite the divorce. The two sisters, who lived together when single, have talked about how they lean on each other for support, and often attend the same events and parties. #sistergoals

In 2018, Beatrice and Eugenie granted British Vogue a rare interview and photo shoot. Although the piece wasn't exactly filled with major revelations (Beatrice and her sis are part of the tight-lipped royal family after all), what was obvious was their love for each other, and their desire to be seen as modern women.

As a single gal, Beatrice lived it up in her native London, of course, but she also lived part time in New York. That's because the company she works for, Afiniti — which uses AI to improve call center service — is based there. Her ex-boyfriend also lived there, and mom Fergie has a part-time home there as well. Digs in London and New York? Lucky!

It's called Big Change, and Princess Beatrice helped set it up in 2012 with five friends. The charity is education-focused, and "supports ambitious projects that are at an early stage but have the potential to grow in size and impact young people across Britain," according to its website. When she announced her later-canceled wedding, Bea asked guests to donate to the charity instead of buying gifts.

As a dyslexic teen, Beatrice was the victim of bullying, which she called "challenging," in what is probably an example of very royal understatement. She has worked for Britain's Be Cool, Be Nice campaign against cyberbullying. "We need to be supportive of our young people, given that our world is over-exposed," she once told Vogue.

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's dad was a close friend of Princess Beatrice's parents, so Beatrice and "Edo" have been acquainted with each other for years. But Beatrice was in 10-year relationship between her late teens and her 20s, so it wasn't till a few years ago that mutual friends set them up and they hit it off immediately.

Edo is the son of an Italian count, but that's not why he's a multi-millionaire. Princess Beatrice's British-born hubby is an incredibly successful luxury property developer whose company has built real estate valued at more than $1 billion. So, yeah ... not to be crass, but Beatrice's dad can stop begging the Queen for her to be a working royal. She's taken care of.