LISTEN: The Princess who came to tea
Spoiler alert – it's Princess Beatrice
Hi everyone.
One of the best bits about royal reporting is when you get to chat to people who have personally met the royals and experienced their warmth and kindness first-hand.
Some of those people who are in that rare, privileged position are often charity workers, like Andy Cook, Chief Executive of the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity, which is one of Princess Beatrice's patronages.
I first met Andy over Zoom in lockdown when he helped organise a recorded interview between HELLO! and Princess Beatrice.
While I only exchanged a few words with Her Royal Highness, it was clear to see how down-to-earth she was, mentioning that she needed to put on some lippy before we started recording – a very relatable remark!
I recently caught up with Andy again and he shared one of his favourite encounters with Beatrice. He painted a picture of a very "normal" person. He has meetings with her at Buckingham Palace where Beatrice makes the tea and asks him: "So what are we working on this year? What can I do to help?"
Beatrice, who openly calls her dyslexia a gift, is "less formal, more personal" than other royal family members, Andy said. "She's the one patron I've had who's so clearly felt the cause personally because of her own dyslexia. She's absolutely passionate about changing the narrative around dyslexia and promoting it as a positive thing. She very much feels responsible for the cause."
Out of the seven years he's worked with Princess Beatrice, his most memorable encounter was when she visited their Centre in 2019. The charity's founder and namesake, Helen Arkell, was 99 years old at the time and confined to her home, so Beatrice made a separate private visit to her bungalow after meeting the children at the Centre.
Have a listen below to an extract from my chat with Andy, but make sure to upgrade to a paid subscription first.