Princess Beatrice's best friend surprises with baby news - see newborn photo

Princess Beatrice is already a doting mother to daughter Sienna and a stepmother to her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi''s son Wolfie, whom he shares with his ex Dara Huang, but she had another reason to celebrate this week.

The royal's close friend Alice Naylor-Leyland announced that she was "so grateful" to welcome her "miracle" fourth child with her husband Tom Naylor-Leyland via surrogacy. The little girl, whose name has not yet been revealed, joins Alice's older three children: Billy, Nancy, and Felix.

Next to a snap of the newborn's foot poking out of the bottom of a white lace-trim dress, Alice opened up about her difficult journey to expand her family, including her miscarriages and fertility issues.

She wrote: "Welcome to the world little one. It’s been a journey to get you into our arms but we are so grateful you are here.

"I’m aware it was greedy to have this burning desire to complete our family, but due to too many complications, setbacks and miscarriages & then being told I was no longer able to carry, we decided to venture down the world of surrogacy.

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"Without the kindness & courage of our dear surrogate & the brilliance of modern science using our own embryo, we would not be here. It’s been a bonkers journey but now we’ve arrived, I can’t wait to enjoy every minute. Thank you to the love, kindness & support of ALL who helped bring our miracle into this world."

Reese Witherspoon and Millie Mackintosh were among the stars to share their congratulatory messages in the comments section, but it's likely that Alice's friend Princess Beatrice is also privately offering her support.

The friends have been pictured enjoying each other's company on numerous occasions, including leaving the private member's club Loulou's in 2015 and attending a party for Alice's brand Mrs Alice in 2022.

Alice has made some rare comments about her children, including admitting that she has learnt a lot of her style tricks from her mother – and hopes to pass what she's learnt down to her daughters.

"I also love the immaculate style of Old Hollywood actresses, such as Catherine Deneuve. And, of course, my mother was hugely inspirational. She has incredible style and is very aesthetically minded. A mother usually passes that onto her daughters," she told Harper's Bazaar.

Alice, whose husband is heir to one of Britain's land-owning dynasties, and Beatrice may share parenting tips now they have both embarked on motherhood journeys. While Beatrice remains tight-lipped about her children, Edoardo's stepfather David Williams-Ellis has praised the royal couple's natural parenting abilities.

"I'm hugely fond of my stepson," David exclusively told HELLO!. "He's a great supporter and a great character. As a father, it's family first for Edoardo and he's an amazing father to both his children. I've seen it first-hand from a really good angle."

The sculptor, who is married to Edoardo's mother Nikki Williams-Ellis, continued: "He's brilliant with his children and he adores them naturally like any father. He gives them a lot of time and a lot of patience, and I think with his busy life, it's probably quite difficult sometimes to do that."

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