The York sisters grew up in the public eye as youngsters but when it comes to their own children, they’ve taken their own approach

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie

Beatrice and Eugenie may be princesses by birth but they’re “raising their children their way” and “giving them freedom,” according to a royal author. Princess Beatrice, 37, shares daughters, Sienna, four, and Athena, one, with her property developer husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, while Princess Eugenie, 35, has two sons, August, four, and Ernest, two, with Jack Brooksbank

Beatrice is also stepmother to Edoardo’s nine-year-old son, Christopher Woolf, known as Wolfie, from his previous relationship with American architect Dara Huang.

“The Princess has shown how a so-called blended family works,” royal author Robert Jobson tells us at HELLO!. “She wed Edoardo in July 2020, when his son Wolfie was around four, and she was genuine too when she described being his stepmum as ‘a great honour’.”

Wolfie splits his time between his time between his parents’ homes in London, and has joined Beatrice and Edoardo at royal engagements, including Christmas at Sandringham and the Princess of Wales’s Christmas carol service.

“His mother, Dara, has confirmed the arrangement worked, saying the two sets of parents were both helping to raise him with no drama. Just good parenting,” Robert comments.

Princess Beatrice, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Christopher Woolf attend Christmas concert© Getty
Beatrice and Edoardo with Wolfie at Princess Kate’s carol concert in 2023

In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar

“I feel lucky to have such positive people around him, who really embrace him – because it didn’t have to be so easy.”

Keeping their children off social media

Like many modern parents in the digital age, Beatrice and Edoardo are protective of their children’s privacy. Sienna’s birth in September 2021 was announced with just a picture of her footprints, and the couple have not shared images of their daughters’ faces publicly in a move to maintain their privacy as they grow up.

Sienna as a flower girl© Instagram / @sarahferguson15
Sienna with Beatrice and Sarah

Eugenie has a public profile and while she has posted images of her sons August and Ernest in the past, she has noticeably opted to only share photographs of her children from behind in recent months.

And while Beatrice and Eugenie have both shared some anecdotes about motherhood, the Princesses have consciously not involved their children in their public life.

Princess Eugenie in blue and white dress on wooden jetty carrying sons Ernest and August© Instagram
Eugenie largely keeps her sons off social media

One subject that Beatrice has opened up about is her daughter Athena’s premature birth. Thursday marked a particularly emotional day for the royal as Athena celebrated her first birthday.

The tot was born several weeks prematurely on 22 January 2025 with the Princess bravely opening up about her daughter’s birth in an essay for British Vogue saying her baby was “so tiny it took more than a few weeks for the tears of relief to dry”.

Beatrice and Edoardo welcomed baby Athena on January 22© Instagram
Little Athena turned one on 22 January

Since then, Beatrice has become patron of prematurity research charity Borne and has called for increased research and support into prematurity, as she admitted that the experience can be “incredibly lonely”.

No royal titles

Neither Edoardo nor Jack were given titles by the late Queen Elizabeth II upon their respective marriages, meaning that their children go by ‘Master’ or ‘Miss’.

“The royal sisters have both avoided complications for their children by avoiding royal and aristocratic titles,” Robert tells us. “Their children are simply August and Ernest Brooksbank and Sienna and Athena Mapelli Mozzi. It means less scrutiny and means they can avoid the burden of being truly public figures.”

Beatrice and Eugenie pictured in Sandringham on Christmas Day© Samir Hussein/WireImage
Beatrice and Eugenie pictured in Sandringham on Christmas Day

The Princesses each have their charitable endeavours, but they do not carry out royal duties. Eugenie works as a director at art gallery Hauser & Wirth while Beatrice works for tech company Afiniti.

Robert describes the sisters as “working mums with proper jobs” and “hands-on”.

“The York princesses grew up close enough to see how the royal system works, very close to the late Queen and Prince Philip,” he says. “But they were distant enough to see the difficulty it brings. They are raising their children their way – and in doing so giving them freedom.”