Princess Beatrice and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi have welcomed a beautiful baby girl.
Beatrice gave birth to a daughter weighing six pounds and two ounces at 11.42pm on Saturday at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.
The new arrival, whose name has not been announced yet, is Beatrice's first child and a second for Edoardo, who already has a young son, Christopher, also known as Wolfie, from a previous relationship.
The newborn, who is 11th in line to the throne, is also a 12th great-grandchild for the Queen and a second grandchild for Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, who has been described as being "over the moon" by the news.
Royal baby news
A statement from Buckingham Palace said: "Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are delighted to announce the safe arrival of their daughter on Saturday 18th September 2021, at 23.42, at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London.
"The baby weighs 6 pounds and 2 ounces.
"The new baby’s grandparents and great-grandparents have all been informed and are delighted with the news. The family would like to thank all the staff at the hospital for their wonderful care.
"Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well, and the couple are looking forward to introducing their daughter to her big brother Christopher Woolf."
Princess Beatrice also tweeted saying she was "delighted to share the news of the safe arrival of our daughter on Saturday 18th September 2021, at 23.42, at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London."
She added: "Thank you to the Midwife team and everyone at the hospital for their wonderful care."
Among those congratulating Beatrice on Twitter was her uncle Prince Charles, whose Twitter account tweeted: "Congratulations to Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on the happy news of the birth of their daughter."
News of Beatrice's pregnancy was formally announced by Buckingham Palace in May.
In a statement, the palace said: "Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are very pleased to announce that they are expecting a baby in autumn of this year.
"The Queen has been informed and both families are delighted with the news."
Love the royals? Sign up for the Mirror's daily newsletter to get all the latest news on the Queen, Charles, Kate, Wills, Meghan, Harry and the rest of The Firm. Click here to sign up.
It's not expected that the Monarch will hand out a title to the newborn but the baby will get a unique title thanks to Edoardo, who is actually an Italian count.
This means any of his children will also inherit a count or countess title.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Edoardo's dad, Count Allessandro Mapelli Mozzi, explained: “Edoardo is the only male descendent taking the family into the next generation.
“He is a count, his wife will be a countess automatically and any of their children will be counts or nobile donna.”
When did Beatrice get married
News the couple were expecting came less than a year after Beatrice, 33, married Edoardo in a secret lockdown wedding in Windsor back last July. The Queen and the late Prince Philip were among the small group of guests to attend.
The couple had to scrap their original wedding plans due to the Covid-19 lockdown, however they opted to have a secret ceremony behind closed doors as soon as government restrictions allowed.
Beatrice, who is 10th in line to the throne, borrowed one of the Queen's dresses for the special day, which she teamed with a stunning diamond tiara.
The dress was made from ivory peau de soie taffeta with a skirt trim of Duchesse satin.
The couple had announced their engagement in September 2019, with photos taken by Princess Eugenie.
Who is Beatrice's husband?
Beatrice and Edoardo became engaged while away on holiday in Italy after less than a year together. They began dating in autumn 2018 but had been friends before that.
Edoardo's toddler son Wolfie was best man and pageboy at their wedding.
A friend of the couple told the Daily Mail at the time the youngster was asked to carry out the role because they wanted to show that he is loved and embraced by Beatrice.
They said: "Bea is totally into the stepmum role. She’s very concerned about getting it right and making every effort to be a second mother to Wolfie.
"She’s totally devoted to him and talks about him all the time."
Beatrice is the only second senior royal to become a step-mum in modern history, following Camilla Parker-Bowles' marriage to Prince Charles.
In an interview with Hello! in August, she admitted her struggle with one aspect of parenting that countless others will have experienced over the past year.
Talking about the various coronavirus lockdowns and how they affected schools, Beatrice said: "Homeschooling, that was definitely not my forte! Not going to lie. Sadly, I can't blame that on dyslexia.
"But I've felt very lucky to have had the chance to work with my bonus son (Wolfie) over the course of the school closures. It was a huge learning curve for all of us."
Beatrice's younger sister Princess Eugenie, to whom she is incredibly close, welcomed a baby boy called August, in February.
