Princess Beatrice has spoken out about her dyslexia and said she would “see it as a gift” if her unborn child had the condition.

Beatrice, 33, is expecting her first baby with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 37, in the autumn.

Both Beatrice and Edoardo are dyslexic, and with the learning difficulty often thought to run in families, the couple are preparing for the possibility that their new baby may be diagnosed, too.

Around 1 in 10 people in the UK have some form of dyslexia, which affects your ability to learn new things, read and write.

Beatrice has been a patron of the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity since 2013 and says she wants to “shift the narrative… towards something that is positive”.

Asked about her unborn child and the condition, she told Hello magazine: “My husband’s also dyslexic, so we’ll see whether we’re having this conversation in a couple of months’ time with a new baby in the house, but I really see it as a gift.”

Reflecting on her own diagnosis at the age of seven, she said the idea of it being a diagnosis “does a disservice to the brilliance of some of the most fantastic minds that we have”.

She said that while her “spelling is appalling” and homeschooling her stepson Wolfie during the coronavirus pandemic was “not her forte”, she still sees her dyslexia as an asset.

The princess, who is set to give birth to the Queen‘s 12th great-grandchild late this year, said her condition made her value the things she could do as a child – not the things she couldn’t.

Describing it as “empowering”, she said: “It was always about moving forward, it was always about what you could do. Never about what you can’t.”

In the hope of inspiring others by speaking out, she added: “If by sharing my story I can help one young person, whether they’re 11 or 7 just receiving the news that they’ve got the gift of dyslexia, then I think you’ve got such a fantastic opportunity to share some of these great learnings.”

Beatrice also spoke out about her dyslexia in March when she recorded a reading of the children book Xtraordinary People.

At the time she described herself as “made by dyslexia”, and that while she “wished it away” when she was first diagnosed, she now sees it as a “tremendous gift”.

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