Princess Beatrice visited research laboratories at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on Monday to support a charity fighting premature births. The visit marked her first public charity appearance in the UK since her father Andrew was stripped of his royal titles over his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The visit to Borne's research facilities holds personal significance for Beatrice. Her daughter Athena was born several weeks prematurely in January, weighing 4lb 5oz. In a statement released to coincide with the visit, Beatrice said: «The work that Borne is undertaking is something that is incredibly close and personal to me following the early arrival of my second daughter. Today's visit was not only insightful but has given me so much hope for pregnant mothers in the UK that this topic is being taken incredibly seriously.»
Laura Tobin, Good Morning Britain's weather presenter and a Borne ambassador, joined Beatrice at the event. Tobin's daughter Charlotte was born three months early in 2017, weighing 2lb 8oz. She described the visit as deeply personal: «As a parent who's experienced the uncertainty of premature birth and how worrying it can be, today's visit was deeply personal. The research happening here gives me real hope for the future, that one day fewer families will have to face what ours did.»
Premature birth crisis
Approximately 60,000 babies are born prematurely in the UK each year, representing one in 13 births. Globally, 15 million babies arrive early annually. Despite these figures, less than 2 percent of medical research funding is dedicated to pregnancy and childbirth.
The visit comes ahead of World Prematurity Day next Monday, for which Borne is running its "every week counts" campaign. Andrew is expected to move from Royal Lodge in Windsor to the Sandringham estate in the new year. The US Congress has requested a transcribed interview with him by November 20 regarding his past associations.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
