TINY PERECTION

Princess Beatrice Gives Birth to Seriously Underweight and Premature Baby Girl

Buckingham Palace delayed announcing the birth for a week but said today that mother and child are doing well, and now at home.

Buckingham Palace announced Wednesday that Princess Beatrice, the daughter of Prince Andrew, gave birth to a premature and seriously underweight baby daughter last week, but added that the child is healthy and doing well. The baby, Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi, was born several weeks prematurely and weighed just 4lb 5oz, Buckingham Palace said. The weight means tiny baby Athena, who is 11th in line to the throne, was born smaller than 99 percent of U.K. babies. A parental finger in the photo released on social media gives an idea of just how small the baby is. Athena is a second child for Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, joining sister Sienna and half-brother Wolfie from Edo’s first marriage. The king and queen were “delighted” at the news and mother and baby have now returned home from hospital. Mapelli Mozzi posted a picture of the baby on Instagram and wrote: “We welcomed Baby Athena into our lives last week. She is tiny and absolutely perfect. We are all (including Wolfie and Sienna) already completely besotted with her. Our hearts are overflowing with love for you, baby Athena. A massive thank you from my wife and I goes out to all the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their exceptional care and support during this incredibly special time.”