When it comes to athletic royals, Princess Anne, Zara Tindall, Mark Phillips, or even Charlene of Monaco may come to mind.
But in 2010, Sarah Ferguson‘s eldest daughter became the first royal to complete the London Marathon. And she helped to set a record in the 26.2-mile race in honour of her mother’s charity, Children in Crisis.
The princess, who today celebrates her 37th birthday, was recently joined by her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, their daughters Sienna, Athena and her stepson Wolfie, at The Mall near Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Lionesses winning Euro 2025.
Beatrice was apparently so dedicated to her marathon training that her trainer Nadiya Fairweather said: ‘We trained in snow, we trained in rain, we trained in mud, we trained in everything. She was committed.’
The princess was one of 34 runners who were tied to each other while running, forming a ‘human caterpillar’. The group broke the record for the most people to finish a marathon while tied together.
Among the others taking were part were her then-boyfriend Dave Clarke and friends Sam and Holly Branson.
Beatrice and her team wore black jerseys with caterpillar graphics, neon green tutus and matching hats with their names on them as they competed in the race—and members of the Royal Family were on hand to support them.
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, joined by Beatrice’s sister, Princess Eugenie, took photos and cheered for the princess on the sidelines.
The Duchess of York told the BBC at the time: ‘For so long I’ve been trying to get her fit and now she’s showing me up today.
‘I’ve just decided that if she’s such a good role-model to me then next year I’m going to do it.’
Although the Duchess of York didn’t keep her promise to compete, her sister-in-law, Duchess Sophie, did take part in the 2020 London Marathon.
Sophie, who is married to Prince Edward, ran 1.5 miles during the virtual event on behalf of her royal patronage, Mencap, but didn’t compete in the full race.
And on April 22, 2018, one day after her 92nd birthday, Her Majesty the Queen was the official starter of the London Marathon.
Wearing a bright pink outfit, Queen Elizabeth II stepped onto a special podium on the empty grounds of Windsor Castle.
After the national anthem, she pushed the start button, sending 40,000 runners on their way through the city.
The Queen’s involvement had historical significance as it came 110 years after the 1908 Olympic Marathon was started at the same location by then Princess Mary, the Queen’s grandmother.
The 1908 race was the first to be contested over 26.2 miles, which became the marathon distance.
Prince William and his wife, Kate, were the official starters in 2017 and volunteered at a water stop. They also made appearances with runners training for the London Marathon.
While they’ve never taken part in the marathon themselves, the Prince and Princess of Wales cheered on participants in 2017 from a water station for the ‘Heads Together’ mental health charity.
They kicked off the event by pressing a red button and handed out bottled water to the athletes, who couldn’t help but stop for selfies with the famous couple.
Some of the 39,000 runers stopped for handshakes and others for selfies but when a few decided to spray water they did not look amused as some landed on their jackets.
Prince Harry also joined the royal couple in cheering on from the sidelines.
Kate and William even attended a training day beforehand, where they joked around and pretended they were also running the race.
The former English former rugby union player, Mike Tindall, has commented on Princess Kate’s running prowess, explaining: ‘She loves running, she can run all day. Engine!’
But it is unlikely that Kate will ever complete the marathon.
The Daily Mail’s Bryony Gordon, who has met Kate and completed the marathon, revealed she asked her if she would consider doing it.
Bryony told Runner’s World : ‘I can’t remember exactly what happened, but I was like, “Are you going to run the marathon?”
‘And she was like, “Oh I can’t because security is a bit difficult.”
‘But I was like, “Sure, yeah, yeah, good excuse. If I can do it, anyone can.”‘
And it seems if anybody is set to run the marathon in the future, it could be ten-year-old Princess Charlotte, the only daughter of Kate and William.
The young Princess was described by her father as a ‘keen runner’ and is training for the 400m, as well as the hurdles.
William spoke with Olympic middle-distance runner Keely Hodgkinson, 23, during her investiture at Windsor Castle earlier this year.
Ms Hodgkinson received her MBE after winning gold in the women’s 800m at the Paris Olympics last year.
She became the first British track and field star to win Olympic gold since Sir Mo Farah back in 2016.
She was named on the New Year’s Honours list following her astonishing year, which had also seen her defend her European title.
Hodgkinson was pictured in conversation and laughing with Prince William as she received her gong at Windsor Castle, before revealing he had told her his daughter Princess Charlotte is a keen runner.
‘The prince told me his daughter is doing the 400m at the minute and the hurdles and that she did watch me in Paris,’ Hodgkinson told PA.
‘He told me that he remembers me winning and that he wished he could be there to see it himself.’
The young princess’s interest in exercise is no surprise, given the Royal Family’s fondness for sport.
Royals have a long history of participating in and supporting various sports, including polo, horse racing and equestrian events.
Some members of the family have even achieved success at Olympic level, such as Princess Anne and Zara Tindall.
Anne competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics and Zara was a silver medallist at the London 2012 Games.
She was crowned Eventing World Champion in 2006 and won BBC Sports Personality of the Year – exactly 35 years after the Princess Royal.
As Beatrice celebrates her birthday today, 15 years after completing the marathon, she still holds the title of the only member of the Royal Family to do so.
This is an impressive feat, especially considering the number of athletes in her family.
Unfortunately, the group’s record for the most people to finish a marathon while tied together was beat in 2019 at the Wales Marathon, according to Guinness World Records. The group of 122 people completed the marathon in 6 hours and 47 minutes.
Perhaps this is all the more reason for Beatrice to run the marathon again and break another record!
