Princess Beatrice says premature birth 'can be incredibly lonely' for mums

Princess Beatrice said giving birth prematurely "can be incredibly lonely" for mothers.

The 37-year-old was discussing the early arrival of her daughter, Athena, who was born in January several weeks ahead of schedule.

The comments are her first in public since her parents Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson lost their titles over their links to Jeffrey Epstein, the paedophile financier.

Princess Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie, 35, have kept a low profile since their uncle King Charles took swift action against Andrew amid ongoing anger over his past friendship with Epstein.

Beatrice, who is Andrew and Fergie's eldest daughter, is fronting a campaign for the premature birth research charity Borne and appeared on its podcast to mark World Prematurity Day on Monday – the same day her father was seen in public for the first time in nearly seven weeks.

She told The Borne Podcast: "I think so often, especially as mums, we spend our lives, you know, feeling we have to be perfect to do this".

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"And sometimes, when you are faced with that moment of learning that your baby's going to come a bit early, it can be incredibly lonely.

"And even now, talking to some of the mums who know about my work with Borne, they feel this sense of … life-changing relief that can come with knowing that there is an organisation there that is supporting the research and supporting the questions, and asking some of these important questions."

Last week, the princess toured the Borne research laboratories at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where she gave birth to Athena on January 22.

Beatrice met with scientists and researchers working on 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.

She was joined by Good Morning Britain's presenter Laura Tobin, who gave birth to her daughter Charlotte three months early in 2017.

Beatrice became patron of the charity in March after the princess and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi welcomed daughter Athena earlier than planned.

The princess hoped her support of Borne, which is is dedicated to funding research into the causes of premature birth around the world, would "bring as many people that have had their own stories, to come and share them".

"Then maybe we can learn from each other," she told the podcast.

"My favourite thing about being a mum is the fact that it's like a secret, you know, it almost feels like a secret club of sharing stories.

"And I love the fact that Borne is there to support them (mothers) when they're going through something incredibly traumatic."

Last year, Princess Beatrice joined the King and Queen and other members of the royal family for Christmas at Sandringham after cancelling plans to travel abroad.

Weeks earlier she was given medical advice not to travel long distances.

It's unclear whether Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will have Christmas at Sandringham this December after the loss of their parents' titles.

The disgraced former prince was seen for the first time in public on Monday since his brother the King removed his titles and ordered him to leave Royal Lodge.

Andrew was photographed riding in the grounds of Windsor Castle with a female companion.

The 65-year-old was seen at the top of the Long Walk, having just left the Royal Mews on horseback, at around 10.20am.

He returned just under an hour later.

Andrew was seen riding his horse almost daily until he was forced to give up his royal titles on October 17.

Six days later, King Charles announced he would formally remove his younger brother's remaining titles and evict him from the sprawling Crown Estate property.

He had not been seen in public in nearly seven weeks.

Andrew is expected to move into a smaller home on the King's private Sandringham estate early next year, after the royals celebrate Christmas at the Norfolk residence.

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