Princess Beatrice came to see her dyslexia as an opportunity rather than a hindrance. Photo / Getty
Princess Beatrice has paid tribute to her parents for helping her to see dyslexia as an opportunity rather than a hindrance.
The royal, 28, was diagnosed in early childhood as she struggled to read even the simplest books, but says her parents worked hard to bring reading alive for her.
The Duke and Duchess of York would record themselves reading her favourite stories so she could fall asleep to the sound of her voices when they were travelling, she told the Evening Standard.
And she revealed how children's stories inspired her as she struggled with her reading, saying: "I was lucky my mother, with her great imagination, took the time to work on these with me."
"By the time I read Harry Potter aged 11, I tore through the pages".
The Duchess of York also penned a series of children's book, Budgie The Helicopter, to help her daughter feel close to Prince Andrew while he was away with the RAF.
And she says that even now those stories hold the "fondest memories" of when books would take her on "the best adventures".
Thanks to her parents efforts, she now looks back on reading as a child as a magical experience, rather than something she struggled with.
"Taking the time to read together as a family became a ritual for us and I treasure the memories created whilst poring over the pages of the books my mother would collect for us, many of which I treasure to this day," she said.
Beatrice spoke out as she was announced as the patron of Oscar's Book Prize, established in memory of the son of journalist James Ashton. His son Oscar, three, died in 2012 from an undiagnosed heart condition. The award for the best children's book for the under fives published in 2016 was set up to honour his love of stories.
The royal, who is patron of the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre, has previously spoken about how she sees the condition as an opportunity rather than a hindrance. On a school visit in 2014, she told students: "Dyslexia is not a pigeonhole to say you can't do anything."
"It is an opportunity and a possibility to learn differently."
"You have magical brains, they just process differently."
"Don't feel like you should be held back by it," she told the youngsters.
They left for a specific reason. But it could pave the way for more to follow.