Beatrice makes charity visit in wake of Andrew’s loss of prince title

Princess Beatrice put the ongoing scandal surrounding her father Andrew Mountbatten Windsor behind her as she stepped out in London to support a charity working to end premature births.

Beatrice toured the Borne research laboratories on Monday afternoon at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where she gave birth to her youngest child Athena several weeks prematurely in January.

It marked the princess’s first public charity appearance in the UK since Andrew was stripped of his prince title and his dukedom over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

It came after reports Beatrice hosted an afternoon tea event in the Middle East last week during an investment summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The princess described the work of Borne, which funds research into how to prevent premature births and why babies are born too soon, as “incredibly close and personal to me following the early arrival of my second daughter”.

Athena was born at the start of the year, weighing 4lb 5oz, with Beatrice later writing that she was “so tiny it took more than a few weeks for the tears of relief to dry”.

Beatrice was joined at the event by Good Morning Britain’s weather presenter Laura Tobin, whose own daughter Charlotte arrived three months early in 2017, weighing just 2lb 8oz.

The pair met scientists and clinicians leading Borne’s research, including projects investigating the causes of preterm labour, the role of inflammation in pregnancy, and the development of new treatments to help prevent babies from being born too early.

In a statement released to coincide with the visit, Beatrice, who became patron of Borne shortly after Athena was born, said: “The work that Borne is undertaking is something that is incredibly close and personal to me following the early arrival of my second daughter.

“Today’s visit was not only insightful but has given me so much hope for pregnant mothers in the UK that this topic is being taken incredibly seriously.

“As a patron of Borne, I am so grateful for the scientists and clinicians who took the time today to show me the advances they are making to reduce the risks to expectant mums and babies.”

Tobin, a Borne ambassador, described the tour as a “deeply personal” experience.

“As a parent who’s experienced the uncertainty of premature birth and how worrying it can be, today’s visit was deeply personal,” she said.

“The research happening here gives me real hope for the future, that one day fewer families will have to face what ours did.

“The dedication of everyone at Borne to finding answers and preventing prematurity is truly inspiring.”

The visit forms part of Borne’s “every week counts” campaign to mark World Prematurity Day next Monday.

Beatrice and Borne founder Professor Mark Johnson are set to host an event at Battersea Power Station in London to mark the occasion, bringing together supporters, researchers, and families involved with the charity.

Some 60,000 babies are born prematurely in the UK every year – one in every 13 births – with 15 million babies arriving early around the world, the charity said.

Complications from prematurity remain the leading cause of neonatal death and lifelong disability, but less than 2% of medical research funding is dedicated to pregnancy and childbirth, it added.

Beatrice’s father Andrew is set to move from Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park sometime in the new year to the King’s private Sandringham estate after he was banished from the royal family.

The King took action by stripping his younger brother of his birthright to be a prince and his dukedom over his “serious lapses of judgment”.

The former prince has for many years been dogged by allegations he sexually abused Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein. Andrew strenuously denies the accusations.

It also emerged in recent weeks that he had emailed Epstein in 2011 saying “we’re in this together”, three months after he claimed he had broken all contact with the paedophile financier.

Andrew’s conduct could be debated by MPs for the first time this week, with the Liberal Democrats intending to raise his Royal Lodge rental arrangements, including details about the size of any payout for leaving the property, after the Commons returns from recess on Tuesday.

Members of the US Congress have also written to him requesting he sit for a “transcribed interview” in connection with his friendship with Epstein, and asking him to respond by November 20.

Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie remain princesses despite their father’s banishment from the royal family and his new status as a commoner.