Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi have welcomed their second daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose, with the couple choosing to conceal the newborn’s face in their first public photograph.
The latest addition to the Royal Family arrived on January 22 at 12:57pm, weighing four pounds and five ounces.
In the announcement photo, baby Athena is seen wrapped in a pink blanket and wearing a white babygro, with her sleeve carefully protecting her face from view.
The newborn joins three-year-old sister Sienna and Edoardo’s son Wolfie, eight, from his previous relationship.
Princess Beatrice and Edoardo praised for following ‘Gen-Z trend’ amid latest announcement
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The concealment of Athena’s face follows a growing trend among high-profile parents to protect their children’s privacy on social media.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have increasingly opted to show their children Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, only from behind in photographs.
Manchester City footballer Jack Grealish and partner Sasha Attwood have shared only glimpses of their new daughter, never revealing her face.
Singer Olly Murs has taken a similar approach with daughter Madison, sharing numerous photos but keeping her face hidden since her birth last April.
Baby Athena was born on Wednesday, January 22, just minutes before 1pmPAPrincess Eugenie, however, has bucked the trend, showing both her sons Ernest and August’s faces in birth announcements.
Gen-Z parents, who have grown up with social media, appear to be leading this shift towards more private sharing of baby photos.
Many celebrities employ creative methods to maintain their children’s privacy, from carefully positioned camera angles to heart emojis covering faces.
England captain Harry Kane regularly uses heart emojis to protect his four children’s identities on social media.
Baby Athena’s second name, Elizabeth, appears to be a touching nod to the late Queen Elizabeth IIPAWhen Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik announced their daughter Khai’s birth four years ago, they shared only an image of her tiny hand being held by her father.
YouTube stars Zoella and Alfie Deyes have indicated they will stop showing their daughters’ faces as they become more recognisable.
The privacy trend comes amid growing legal concerns about children’s consent for social media sharing.
In 2016, an 18-year-old Austrian teenager sued her parents for posting over 500 intimate childhood photos on Facebook without her permission.
Princess Eugenie took to Instagram to welcome her new-born niece, Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi
Instagram / Princess Eugenie
“They knew no shame and no limit – and didn’t care whether it was a picture of me sitting on the toilet or lying naked in my cot – every stage was photographed and then made public,” the teen was quoted as saying.
The case highlights potential future legal implications as children whose lives have been documented online come of age. Beyond privacy and consent concerns, experts warn about serious safety risks when sharing children’s photos online.
Research has shown that photos taken from social media can be misused on inappropriate websites, with one study indicating 50 per cent of material on certain problematic sites originated from social media profiles.
Professor Kara Alaimo has highlighted that “photos parents post could attract the attention of criminals” and might be reposted on sites targeting children.
There are also concerns about identity theft, with experts noting “there is a thriving black market for personally identifiable information.”