Princess Beatrice is expecting her second child, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The late Queen’s granddaughter, 36, and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40, are preparing to welcome a new addition to their family in early spring.
The royal baby will be a little brother or sister for the couple’s three-year-old daughter Sienna, and Mr Mapelli Mozzi’s son and Beatrice’s stepson, eight-year-old Wolfie.
Two new pictures from the family were shared to mark the announcement, with one showing blonde-haired Sienna from behind as she walks along a country lane, holding hands in the middle of her father and big brother Wolfie.
The youngster, with a red bow in her hair, is kitted out in bright yellow wellies and an all-in-one blue waterproof puddlesuit decorated with cloud and bird motifs.
In another picture, an overjoyed Beatrice – wearing a black puffer jacket – smiles at the camera, while being embraced by Mr Mapelli Mozzi, who is gazing at his wife.
The King has been informed and both families are “delighted”, the Palace said on Tuesday.
The happy news comes during one of the royal family’s most personally challenging years, with the King, the Princess of Wales and Beatrice’s mother Sarah, Duchess of York all being diagnosed with cancer.
Sarah was treated for malignant melanoma skin cancer in January, just months after undergoing a mastectomy for breast cancer, but Beatrice said in May the duchess had been given the “all clear”.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are very pleased to announce that they are expecting their second child together in early spring; a sibling for Wolfie, aged eight, and Sienna, aged three.
“His Majesty The King has been informed and both families are delighted with the news.”
Beatrice is the eldest daughter of the Duke of York and his ex-wife Sarah, and the new baby will be the Yorks’ fourth grandchild.
The baby, who will not be an HRH, will be born 11th in line to the throne, with Beatrice’s younger sister Princess Eugenie moving down to 12th place.
He or she will also be the 14th great-grandchild of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and the second to be born since her death in 2022, following the arrival of Eugenie’s second child Ernest last year.
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