Princess Beatrice joined celebrities on the trading floor at BGC’s Canary Wharf offices on Thursday as part of the firm’s annual Charity Day, taking part in call‑in fundraising to mark the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Under the guidance of brokers, the 37‑year‑old royal handled calls and helped close deals with clients, with 100 percent of the revenue raised during the day donated to charities. Beatrice was raising funds for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF), a non‑profit set up by commercial fishermen to conduct collaborative fisheries research and education projects.
BGC Group’s annual event in London pays tribute to the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald staff and 61 EuroBrokers employees who were killed in the World Trade Center attacks. The 9/11 attacks killed 2,977 people and injured thousands at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. The firm’s Charity Day, which began in the aftermath of the attacks, draws celebrities and public figures who trade on the floor for the day to raise funds for nominated causes.
Alongside Beatrice, the trading floor hosted a wide range of public figures and entertainers, including actors Tom Hardy, Lily James and Will Poulter; television presenters Holly Willoughby, Davina McCall and Gabby Logan; musicians Louise Redknapp and Amanda Holden; and athletes such as boxer Anthony Joshua, former Chelsea captain John Terry, rugby captain Maro Itoje and former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate. Paddington Bear also appeared at the fundraiser. Ambassadors used their shifts to support charities including Muscular Dystrophy UK, Magic Breakfast, Help for Heroes and local charitable causes.
Photographs from the event showed Beatrice speaking on the phone with senior BGC executives and posing for pictures with other participants. At one point she paused for a selfie with an ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy UK. Organisers said the day typically raises millions of pounds for grassroots organisations and national charities, with proceeds from the trading floor directed to the causes chosen by each participating celebrity.
Beatrice’s appearance at the Canary Wharf event marks her second consecutive year at BGC’s Charity Day; she attended last September and at the time praised the ‘‘incredible work’’ carried out by the charities supported. The royal has continued a busy schedule this year, including inaugurating a new branch of Abu Dhabi Bank in Mayfair in a separate engagement.
The princess is married to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and is mother to two daughters, Sienna Elizabeth and Athena Elizabeth Rose. Earlier this year the couple and their blended family made a public appearance during celebrations for England’s women’s team after their European Championship victory.
BGC Group’s Charity Day remains one of the City of London’s most visible fundraising events, combining market activity with celebrity participation to generate support for a broad spectrum of charitable organisations while commemorating the victims of the 2001 attacks.