Royal children have always been a symbol of hope, not just for the monarchy and its supporters but for Great Britain in general, and the old routines of royal life are hard to break. The family still come together at Balmoral in the summer and at Sandringham for Christmas, but within the establishment things are somewhat different.
When Princess Beatrice gave birth to her second child with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, the tiny baby girl – who arrived on 22 January several weeks early – weighed only 4lb 5oz. When Athena Elizabeth Rose was introduced to the world a week later the sleeve of a babygrow obscured her face from the camera. The days of photographs of royal babies facing the camera appear to be over, due to the intense and often cruel scrutiny of social media. Little Athena is 11th in line to the throne after her three-year-old sister Sienna, with whom she shares a middle name in honour of their late great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Still on the subject of children, the Princess of Wales has been busy working with her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. The publication of a special framework for early childhood covers 30 crucial life skills including simple things such as the importance of engaging directly with small children and not continually glancing at a smartphone.
‘It lays out why childhood is such a golden opportunity to give the next generation the most positive start in life,’ the princess explains in the foreword, ‘but it also shows that these skills continue to grow throughout adulthood – it is never too late.’
As if to emphasise her serious approach to her work Catherine has instructed her office to refrain from announcing details of the outfits she wears on public engagements. As Diana did before her, she finds it frustrating that the emphasis has largely been on her clothes and her hair rather than what she is doing. As the princess is regarded as a champion of British style this decision did not win universal approval. I suspect many will find plenty of entertainment discovering who designed what and it will be on the internet in a trice.
