In a rare royal move, Princess Beatrice has spoken out about the difficult effects of dyslexia, and the challenges she faced growing up with the condition.
WATCH: Princess Beatrice labelled ‘the unluckiest princess in the world’
The striking new interview has done the rounds on social media, sparking fans to re-share and discuss – and for good reason.
Bea, who was due to marry her fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi at the end of this month until the pandemic put a stop to it, has rarely spoken out on issues that have affected her before.
In a heartfelt video confession, which was shared online by Made By Dyslexia, the young royal spoke candidly about the condition in a bid to reduce the stigma attached to it.
“It develops as you develop, it grows. It’s part of you, it’s part of how your brain develops,” Beatrice explained.
“It is not something that is wrong with you. It is a great part of how your brain works, and everybody’s brain works incredibly differently. There is nothing wrong, there is just everything that is so right.”
The Princess discussed her own experience with the condition, elaborating on how it affected her as a child.
“I was very lucky, I got to go to a school that was very nurturing and very supportive, but I would describe the actual day to day learning side of things very challenging.
“I remember we had different coloured books to describe how far your reading levels had got to and I was always on the white books,” she explains in the video.
“My best friends were always on the yellow books or the green books. They were so far ahead. And I think at that stage, those moments of doubt just pop into your head. ‘I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough. Why am I not like the others?’” she added.
The royal hopes that by sharing her personal story, it will help foster changes in the education system, to better suit the needs of those suffering from dyslexia.
She went on to say that if she could say anything to her younger self it would be to not feel defined by the moments that happening in her youth.
“They are the lessons that you carry with you and they build you up to be who you are,” she said.
Beatrice also referenced how she deals with the condition to this day, saying that her dyslexia has given her an advantage as she fills her role as Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy at global company Afiniti.
“A lot of my colleagues also have dyslexia because we work in a technology company that is always about thinking differently,” she explained.
“And I think that’s one of the strengths we have as dyslexics is to look at things differently, be a problem solver, find new ways to do things, be experimental, entrepreneurial,” she added.
This article first appeared on Now To Love.
