'Her feet were so small' - Princess Beatrice on the 'sheer worry' and 'tears of relief' of baby Athena's preterm birth

Princess Beatrice has opened up about the preterm birth of her second daughter Athena and the "sheer worry" and "tears of relief" she experienced during this challenging time.

Two months after welcoming her second daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose, weeks ahead of her early spring due date, Princess Beatrice has penned an incredibly moving and personal essay about her experience. Writing in British Vogue, the King’s niece explained that whilst she’s lived a "life that is out of the ordinary" as a member of the Royal Family, her "joys and fears in pregnancy and motherhood" are exactly the same as those of millions of other women.

"Like countless other expectant mums, I lay awake in the weeks leading up to birth, trying to monitor each movement of the baby in my tummy and asking myself a thousand times: "What if this happens, or what if that happens?" she said, before expressing her "tears of relief" when little Athena arrived safely on 22nd January.

Princess Beatrice wrote, "Athena arrived healthy, a few weeks before her due date. She was so tiny it took more than a few weeks for the tears of relief to dry and for life with our healthy baby to feel real. Her feet were so small - almost the same size as the paws on one of my older daughter’s soft bunnies."

She and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi shared the news of Athena’s birth and her name on 29th January, alongside an adorable first picture of their daughter tucked up in a pink blanket. They expressed their immense gratitude to the wonderful team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and in her essay Princess Beatrice described Athena as "now doing really well". The parents now have a "few more answers" but "still no precise explanation".

However, after "months of sheer worry" Princess Beatrice shared that she is "filled with a sense of determination" to help others find answers to questions around the complications that can lead to preterm birth. These questions "defined" her days and nights during her pregnancy with Athena.

She drew comfort from being "as open as possible" with her family, friends and "even other mums at the school days". She urged people to take the time to share their experience, believing that it can help you to realise that on "some level" everyone has a shared experience of birth and that it can bring people together.

Since Athena’s birth, Princess Beatrice has become Patron of Borne, an organisation founded by Professor Mark Johnson with the mission of ending premature birth. She is taking "great pride" in this appointment and she hopes that more investment into medical research will mean that Sienna and Athena won’t have to face the same kind of challenges when they’re older.

"In many ways, for the longest time, women’s health has been left off the agenda. You can try and plan as much as possible with pregnancy, but sometimes your body - or your baby - has other ideas, which in some cases can lead to a preterm birth," she said "Thankfully, with ever evolving technology in the hands of knowledgeable doctors, midwives and nurses, more progress is being made every day towards understanding the unique complications that can accompany a preterm pregnancy."

The royal has also teamed up with her friend Alice Naylor-Leyland to create a baby shower collection for her brand, Mrs Alice, and the proceeds will be going to benefit Borne. This new essay is incredibly heartfelt and Princess Beatrice’s openness is perhaps reflective of the much more personal approach the Royal Family in general have been taking in recent years.