Royal Watch News

Princess Beatrice inspired by young people to reach Mont Blanc summit

Sep 19, 2012, 12:01 GMT

Princess Beatrice

Princess Beatrice was inspired by the good work she was doing to reach the top of Mont Blanc.

The 24-year-old royal was part of a six person expedition which scaled the 15,000-ft peak in the French Alps earlier this month to launch the Big Change Charitable trust.

She told the BBC: 'It is a very difficult mountain to climb there are so many different elements that went into this, not just the training, but also once you're up there.

'And what was getting us to the top was remembering that we were doing this for charity and thinking about all the young people we could help and support by getting to the top. It was inspiring to be there.

'It was the perfect opportunity to unveil the Big Change Charitable trust, and we wanted to find the perfect challenge, to launch the charity with, but also challenge ourselves.'

The princess was joined on the trek by Holly and Sam Branson - the offspring of entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson - and Isabella Calthorpe, Sam Richardson and Philip Nevin, the six key figures who worked to set up the trust.

Holly said now was the perfect time to launch the charity, as the 2012 London Olympics have sparked inspiration in many young people.

She said: 'It's very important to put things back in the world and just because we are privileged doesn't mean we shouldn't be doing that, in fact we should be doing it more things like that, so we wanted to set up the charity, a UK, youth-based charity to help inspire and encourage young people.

'Especially after the Olympics, we thought the youth of the UK now more than ever are inspired to become the best that they can be.'

Beatrice also said how proud her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, is of her achievements, and those of her father, Prince Andrew, who abseiled the tallest building in Europe, The Shard, in the same week.

She said: 'She's a supportive figure and an incredible woman. We were talking before I went and she was just she was incredibly supportive, and with my dad abseiling down the Shard and me taking on Mont Blanc in the same week, she must have been very excited.'