Princess Beatrice has narrated a book to empower children with dyslexia ahead of Children’s Book Day.
The 32-year-old royal, who has been candid about her own struggles with dsylexia growing up, was filmed narrating Xtraordinary People, published by Penguin Random House Children’s, from her home at St James’s Palace in London.
The book was written by Kate Griggs, the founder of global charity Made By Dyslexia, of which Beatrice is an ambassador, and the foreword was penned by Sir Richard Branson, who is also dyslexic.
Xtraordinary People encourages children to embrace the strengths they gain from dyslexia, a learning disorder that affects reading and writing.
The royal, who was diagnosed aged seven, said she now sees her condition as a ‘tremendous gift’ and wants to help children to learn from their strengths ahead of International Children’s Book Day on April 2.
Princess Beatrice, 32, pictured who is one of the ambassadors of global charity Made By Dyslexia, narrated Xtraordinary People, by Kate Griggs, ahead of International Children’s Book Day from her home at St James’s Palace, London
‘What you may not know about me is that I was Made by Dyslexia, which was a bit of a struggle when I was at school,’ Beatrice said in promotional video for the book.
‘But now, thanks to all the practice and a lot of support, I feel so lucky to be made by Dyslexia and working with some incredible organisations who are there to support you on your journey to find out what your superpower is,’ she added.
‘So today, I am thrilled to be reading this amazing book, called Xtraordinary people,’ she added.
Xtraordinary People was written by Kate Griggs, the founder of Made by Dyslexia
In another video, the royal was seen reading a few pages from the book, including how having dyslexia can help children access certain jobs, due to their ‘xtraordinary way of thinking.’
The book presents dyslexia as a ‘superpower’ that children can tap into to progress in life.
‘People “Made by Dyslexia” are very good at certain things. Some people call them our “superpowers”,’ Beatrice read.
‘We say that is what makes us Xtraordinary. You see, when you’re dyslexic, you think a little different to people who not dyslexic.
‘This Xtraordinary way of thinking males us very good at all sorts of things.’
Beatrice, who is one of Made by Dyslexia’s ambassadors, has been candid about her struggles with dyslexia.
The book, read by Beatrice, pictured, encourages children to hone the skills they had to develop due to dyslexia
Xtraordinary People also encourage children with dyslexia to believe practicing on their skills will lead them to ‘extraordinary jobs’
‘It’s no secret that I struggled with my dyslexia as a child and often even wished it away,’ she said.
‘But now I see it as a tremendous gift and I want every dyslexic child to know that they too can tap into their dyslexic strengths,’ she added.
The royal began her early education at the independent Upton House School in Windsor, in 1991, before she and Princess Eugenie attended the independent Coworth Park School from 1995.
In 2000, Princess Beatrice went on to study at the independent St George’s School in Ascot until she graduated in 2007.
She is now Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy for software firm Afiniti.
Xtraordinary People highlights how dyslexic children see the world differently, which encourages them to think more creatively to solve problems.
It identifies seven children’s archetypes to show how dyslexic children are hardwired to be good at certain skills due to their dyslexia.
The type include: Storytellers, Entertainers, Makers, Movers, Imaginers, ‘People’ people, and Questioners. Each are detailed characters, brought to life thanks to illustrations by Steven Woods.
Xtraordinary People supports Made by Dyslexia’s Connect the Spots campaign, which aims to train all 90 million teachers in the world within five years, using free video-based teacher training developed in partnership with some of the world’s leading schools for teaching dyslexic children, and supported by Microsoft.
Author of Xtraordinary People and founder of Made By Dyslexia Kate Griggs said: In an era of automation, where facts can be Googled; spelling, punctuation and grammar can be corrected at the touch of a button; it is creativity, imagination and intuition that sets dyslexics apart from the machines.
‘That’s why it is our mission at Made by Dyslexia to train every teacher to spot, support and empower every dyslexic child,’ she said.
‘Dyslexic thinkers are ready for the workplace of tomorrow, if we can reshape how we teach them today and remove the many unnecessary obstacles that hold a lot of people back,’ she added.
‘It is my hope that this book will be used to support teachers and parents, while inspiring a generation of “xtraordinary” children,’ she added.