Princess Beatrice’s baby already has an older brother many royal fans won’t know about

Princess Beatrice arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England
(Image credit: Photo by Gareth Fuller - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Princess Beatrice’s pregnancy was announced to the world this week and her baby already has an older brother - though many royal fans won’t know about him.

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are expecting their first first child together, though their baby already has an older brother that many royal fans might not know about. The new royal arrival is due in autumn 2021 and the official palace statement revealed that, ‘The Queen has been informed and both families are delighted with the news.’

Beatrice's baby will be the Queen’s twelfth great-grandchild and will follow the birth of Prince Harry and Meghan's second baby, who is due later this year. Meanwhile, the Royal Family has already grown in 2021, after Princess Eugenie gave birth to August Brooksbank and Zara Tindall welcomed a son, Lucas.

Both boys have ‘Philip’ as a middle name, thought to be a sweet tribute to Prince Philip, who sadly passed away in April. 

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge look on from the balcony during the annual Trooping The Colour parade on June 17, 2017 in London, England

So Beatrice's baby will certainly have a great number of royal relatives close to their age. Though just as excitingly, they already have an older brother. Edoardo has a son, Christopher, nicknamed Wolfie, from a previous relationship. 

The four-year-old attended Beatrice and Edoardo’s wedding in July 2020 and he and Beatrice are understood to be close. Her mother Sarah Ferguson previously spoke about how she was 'already a grandma' before August's birth as they welcomed Wolfie to the family. Whilst earlier this year, Beatrice opened up about their bond in an inspirational piece for the Evening Standard. 

Writing in celebration of World Book Day in March, Beatrice declared: “This year, I had the great honour to become a stepmother, and have had the most remarkable time going back over some of my most favourite stories at bedtime.”

Princess Beatrice of York and her fiance Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi attend the Royal Wedding of Prince Jean-Christophe Napoleon and Olympia Von Arco-Zinneberg at Les Invalides on October 19, 2019 in Paris, France

And it seems she had Wolfie have really been enjoying their time reading together, especially during the recent lockdown. 

“My stepson has been, as many children have, home schooling this term”, she continued. 

“Helping him to engage with stories is a great journey to inspire imagination, creativity, independence and humour. If you have not yet read the Oi Frog books by Kes Grey and Jim Field, they have fast become our favourite.

“We have all had to learn new ways to cope with the strangest of times. For our family, reading stories has been a great part of our journey to finding laughter and a little magic on the journey.”

It is wonderful to think that Princess Beatrice and her stepson will one day get to share their love of reading with the new royal baby.

Emma Shacklock
Senior Lifestyle Writer

Emma is a Senior Lifestyle Writer with six years of experience working in digital publishing, ranging from book publishing to magazines. She currently looks after all things Lifestyle for Woman&Home, Goodto.com, and My Imperfect Life.