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The House Of Windsor |
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Princess Beatrice of York
Princess Beatrice the first Princess of York since her grandmother, the Queen, and is at present fifth in line to the British throne. Beatrice was born on 8 August, 1988, at Portland Hospital, London, the eldest child of Andrew, Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson, the daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson. She weighed 6 pounds and twelve ounces at birth.
The new arrival was christened Beatrice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor at the Chapel Royal at St. James Palace, London. The name Beatrice was last used in the Royal family by Queen Victoria's youngest daughter Beatrice. The Duchess of York had previously written a book about Queen Victoria, her consort Prince Albert and their family. Mary was the name of both the Queen's grandmother and the Duchess' mother.
The York family was completed on the arrival of a second daughter, Princess Eugenie on 23rd March, 1990. After much negative press attention was focused on the troubles in their marriage, Andrew and Sarah separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996, when Beatrice was eight. They agreed to share custody of their children. As the split was an amicable and civilized one, Beatrice and her sister, Eugenie, were largely unaffected by it.
As a child Beatrice loved the colour pink and was an ardent fan of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid.' The Princess attends St. George's School at Ascot, Berkshire where she has been made head girl and lives at Sunninghill Park, near Windsor, the family home is shared by both her parents and they regularly enjoy holidays as a family unit. She is said to enjoy sports, including tennis, golf and bicycle riding and also sings in the school choir.
Princess Beatrice suffers from mild dyslexia, as her mother, the Duchess of York, also did. She required special help with reading and writing at the Arkell Dyslexia Centre prior to taking her GCSE's. Nevertheless, she passed eight.
She wanted the fact that she suffers from dyslexia to be public knowledge to help others with the condition. She was reported to have said " I have been given circumstances that anyone would wish for and I do believe that I must do something good with it. That was one of the reasons why I came out publicly to let people know I am dyslexic. It was my decision to do that as it is a problem helped by more people knowing about it." Beatrice is said to be very good at oral French, drama and numbers.
Known to be close to her grandmother, the Queen, she often enjoys riding with her at Windsor Great Park. Her doting father, the Duke of York is reported as saying of his elder daughter " Beatrice is the responsible one - her sense of duty and concern for others is amazing." After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, both Beatrice and her sister, Eugenie laid flowers in memory of the victims at the Roosevelt memorial at the American Embassy in London. The princess has carried out charity work with her mother, visiting orphaned children in Russia.
In an interview with 'Tatler' magazine, accompanied by several glamourous photographs, given to mark her seventeenth birthday, Beatrice stated that she didn't see herself "as a stereotypical Princess" and " I wouldn't trade my life with anyone else, I love being who I am and I feel very happy with that." She spoke of her father, the Duke of York as "very kind and thoughtful." Beatrice was described as being 'charming, polite and chatty, with a raucous laugh.'
Beatrice is at present enjoying a gap year after passing A-level exams, gaining an A in drama, a B in film studies and a B in history. She plans to spend part of thetime on work experience in New York and hopes to organise a charity trip to Africa before going on to university.
The Princess made the headlines in 2006 when it was publicised that she had formed a relationship with Paolo Liuzzo, a 24-year-old American who had pleaded guilty to assault and battery in the 2002 death of a fellow College of the Holy Cross student. The relationship has since ended. The Princess is now dating 24 year old Dave Clark, an Edinburgh graduate and the son of wealthy American Michael Clark, said to have been introduced to her by her cousin Prince William. The couple are said to be very close.
Beatrice is to perform a small role, believed to be a non-speaking one, in the film 'The Young Victoria', a Martin Scorsese production covering the story of the Queen's romance with Albert. Making her the first member of the royal family to appear in a movie. Her mother, the Duchess of York, who is known to have an active interest in Queen Victoria, is one of the film's executive producers.
Princess Beatrice will appear as a lady-in-waiting in a scene from the coronation of her great-great-great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria."It was tiring and I was freezing cold, but I absolutely loved it," she is reported to have said after finishing filming Victoria's coronation at Lincoln Cathedral. "I am so excited about it." She was dressed in a full white gown with a tight corset top and matching headdress for her first day of shooting.