Who is Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York? The royal world knows Princess Beatrice of York as the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is fifth, and the first female, in the line of succession to the thrones of 16 independent states.As a university student, Beatrice does not regularly carry out official royal duties, however she does sometimes make appearances with the Royal Family at events, such as when she and her sister, Princess Eugenie, represented their father at a service of thanksgiving for her late aunt Diana, Princess of Wales, in 2007.
Early life
Beatrice was born 8 August 1988 at the Portland Hospital on 8 August 1988, at 6 lbs. 12oz. (3.06 kg), the first child of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York, and fifth grandchild of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She was baptised in the Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace on 20 December 1988, her godparents being: Viscount Linley (her paternal cousin); the Duchess of Roxburghe (now Lady Jane Dawnay); The Hon Mrs John Greenall; and Mrs Henry Cotterell.[2] She was named after Princess Beatrice, youngest daughter of Queen Victoria.[citation needed] As a male-line grandchild of the sovereign, Beatrice was styled Her Royal Highness with the title Princess Beatrice of York.Beatrice and her sister are the only granddaughters of the Queen to hold the title of princess and the style Her Royal Highness. Although, by Letters Patent issued by King George V, their cousin Lady Louise Windsor, is legally a princess, she is not styled as such at the request of her parents and the Queen. Their other cousin, Zara Phillips, is the Queen's granddaughter through the female line, therefore allowing her only the title and style of her father, Captain Mark Phillips.
Education
Princess Beatrice began her early education at the independent Upton House School in Windsor, in 1991. From there, she and her sister both attended the independent Coworth Park School from 1995. Beatrice continued her education at the independent St. George's School in Ascot, where she was a pupil from 2000 to 2007. Having been diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, she delayed sitting her GCSE exams for one year. She remained at St. George's to take her A-Levels, gaining a grade A in drama, and B grades in history and film studies.[3] She was elected Head Girl in her final year.[4]In September 2008, the Princess started a degree in history at Goldsmiths, University of London to graduate in 2011.[5]
Personal interests
In an interview to mark her 18th birthday, Princess Beatrice said that she wanted to use her position to assist others through charity work; she had already undertaken charitable duties alongside her mother through the various organisations the Duchess supported. In 2002, Beatrice visited HIV-infected children in Russia, and, in Britain, she supported Springboard for Children (a literacy project for primary-school children with learning difficulties) and the Teenage Cancer Trust. During the summer of 2008, the Princess volunteered as a sales clerk at Selfridges, and it was reported the Princess and a friend have plans to found a fashion line.[6] In April 2010, running to raise money for Children in Crisis, she became the first member of the royal family to complete the London Marathon.[7]Beatrice has also been involved in the film industry, becoming the first member of the Royal Family to appear in a non-documentary film when she appeared in a cameo role in The Young Victoria (2009), based around the accession and coronation of Beatrice's fourth-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. Beatrice had a minor, non-speaking role in a number of scenes.[8] Several tabloids have linked the princess with Dave Clark.[9] Dave Clark is the son of Richard Clark, an influential businessman within the Virgin Group.
Official duties
Princess Beatrice has been present at a number of official royal occasions, such as Trooping the Colour in London, and the Queen's 80th birthday. She and her sister were also guests at the Concert for Diana, in memory of their late aunt organised by their cousins, Princes William, Duke of Cambridge and Harry of Wales. Both princesses attended the service of thanksgiving for Diana on 1 September 2007, representing their father, who was on an official visit to Malaysia. Princess Beatrice was present at the 2011 Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. At the wedding, Princess Beatrice's hat was noted by the media as an odd choice of fashion.Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
| Royal styles of Princess Beatrice of York | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | Her Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
- 8 August 1988 – : Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice of York
The Princess's style and title in full: Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York. As a British princess, Beatrice holds no surname; however, as with the other male-line grandchildren of Elizabeth II, she uses the name of the area over which her father holds title, i.e. York (as Prince Harry uses Wales, per his father, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales).Arms
| Arms of Princess Beatrice of York | ||
| Notes | The Princess' personal coat of arms is the shield of the arms of the sovereign in right of the United Kingdom, differenced by a label of five points bearing three bees in reference to her Christian name and maternal arms. |  |
| Crest | A coronet composed of four crosses formy and four strawberry leaves. | |
| Escutcheon | Quarterly 1st and 4th gules three lions passant guardant in pale or 2nd or a lion rampant gules within a double tressure flory counterflory gules 3rd azure a harp or stringed argent. | |
| Supporters | Dexter a lion rampant gardant or imperially crowned proper, sinister a unicorn argent, armed, crined and unguled or, gorged with a coronet or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also or. | |
| Other elements | The whole differenced by a label of five points argent, the centre and exterior points each charged with a bee volant proper. | |
| Banner |  The Princess' personal Royal Standard is that of the sovereign in right of the United Kingdom, labelled for difference as in her arms. | |
| Symbolism | As with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom. The first and fourth quarters are the arms of England, the second of Scotland, the third of Ireland. The use of three bees in her arms continues the trend in royal heraldry (cf. the arms of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge) of using charges from the maternal line (The Ferguson arms feature a crest bearing a bee). It can also be considered a pun on the name Beatrice, an unusual example of canting in modern royal arms. | |
