Why Princess Beatrice is the only royal to have run the London Marathon
There are many things to admire about Princess Beatrice, from her charity work to her heart-warming approach to step-parenting, but there's one specific achievement that sets her apart from the other royals.
In 2010, Sarah Ferguson's daughter became the first royal ever to complete the London Marathon, running the gruelling 26.2-mile race in honour of the Children in Crisis charity. Not only did Beatrice run the race, but she also completed it dressed as a caterpillar!
The royal was one of 33 runners who made up a human caterpillar, decked out in a neon green skirt and a hat with her name on it – nobody can say Bea isn't a good sport!
You may also like
I'm running the London Marathon, here are 10 essential items on my kit list
27 times sporty royals made us laugh - photos of Prince Harry, Princess Kate & Co playing sport
Kate Middleton is the sportiest royal - 17 photos to prove it
The Princess of Wales addressed her reasons for not running the famous race, despite being a keen runner, during the launch of the Heads Together campaign in 2016.
Journalist Bryony Gordon later revealed to Runner's World that she had asked the royal if she would do the run, to which Kate answered: "Oh no, security and all that."
The Duchess of Edinburgh tried her hand at the challenging run in 2020, taking on the first mile and a half of the virtual London Marathon, in honour of the charity Mencap, of which she is a patron.
Despite the pouring rain, Sophie donned her sportswear and took to the streets of Windsor to complete her portion of the marathon. Look back at the moment in the clip below...
Princess Beatrice reportedly trained for her marathon in similarly unpleasant conditions, with her trainer Nadiya Fairweather explaining: "We trained in snow, we trained in rain, we trained in mud, we trained in everything. She was committed."
Thousands of runners will take to the streets of the capital for the London Marathon on Sunday 21 April, setting off in Greenwich and Blackheath before heading towards Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf, and then Embankment, Westminster and The Mall for the finish line.
