Princess Beatrice had a surprise night out with King Charles and Queen Camilla to support a wildlife charity established by the Queen’s late brother.
On May 13, Princess Beatrice, 36, stepped out in a deep red Rebecca Vallance gown to attend the Elephant Family’s “Wonders of the Wild” event at Kew Gardens in Richmond, England, where she joined her uncle the King and Queen Camilla. The Elephant Family is a charity working to conserve Asia’s wildlife and enable coexistence with surrounding communities, and Tuesday night’s event celebrated arts and conservation.
The outing comes just over three months after Beatrice welcomed her second child, daughter Athena, who was born prematurely. In a first-person essay for British Vogue published March 23, she recalled the “sheer worry” of her daughter’s early arrival but said the experience taught her “so much.”
Beatrice, who is also mom to daughter Sienna, 3, with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, revealed that Athena “is now doing really well.” She shared that she has had “a few more answers as to what happened, but still no precise explanation” of the early birth.
While Princess Beatrice, the King and Queen Camilla didn’t pose for a photo together at the event, Beatrice’s presence was a show of support for the cause that’s important to them. Prince Andrew’s eldest daughter is a Counsellor of State for King Charles, meaning that she could execute constitutional duties if he was abroad or unwell.
The law dictates that the Counsellor of State position is held by the sovereign’s spouse and the first four people in the line of succession over the age of 21, which is how Beatrice holds the royal role. However, it’s unlikely that she would be tapped to act for the King, with Queen Camilla or Prince William more likely to take on that responsibility.
Princess Beatrice is not a patron of the organization, but has attended events connected to the Elephant Family before, and her mother and sister are formal supporters.
Beatrice’s younger sister Princess Eugenie and their mother Sarah Ferguson are both honorary life patrons of the Elephant Family, as is Queen Camilla’s sister, Annabel Elliot, who also attended the fête. The Queen and her sister are known to be close, with Annabel serving as both a coronation attendant and a Queen’s Companion, a more modern form of lady-in-waiting.
The organization was established by Queen Camilla’s late brother, Mark Shand, who died in 2014 at age 62 after falling and sustaining a head injury. Mark was a passionate conservationist who dedicated decades of his life to saving the Asian elephant. Today, his sister Queen Camilla, 77, and King Charles, 76, continue this mission by serving as the Elephant Family’s joint royal presidents.
The Wonders of the Wild night recognized the ongoing work of the Elephant Family and concluded the Big Egg Hunt, a public art trail in which leading artists and designers created over 120 egg sculptures displayed at iconic spots around London as part of a free public art trail.
The King and Queen toured an avenue lined with over 30 egg sculptures upon arrival and met charity supporters including singer-songwriter Ellis-Bextor, media presenter Gok Wan and Matilde Rodrigues, age 8, who was one of the first people to complete the special egg trail by collecting all 123 eggs via the Elephant Family app.
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The royal couple heard speeches and watched a film before presenting awards — the King presenting the Mark Shand Award and Queen Camilla giving the Tara Award, named after an elephant befriended by her brother.
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