This Surprising Royal Is the Only Family Member to Have Finished the London Marathon—And They Broke a World Record

On Sunday, April 27, the London Marathon set a new world record for the most runners to ever complete a marathon, with 56,640 competitors crossing the finish line. But in 2010, a member of the Royal Family broke a more unusual world record while also becoming the first and only British royal to have completed the famous race.

Princess Beatrice competed in the 2010 London Marathon with her then-boyfriend, Dave Clark, along with a group of friends who tied themselves together to form a human caterpillar. The 34-person-strong team—which included Virgin CEO Richard Branson's daughter, Holly, and son, Sam—broke the world record for the most people to finish a marathon whilst being tied together.

Beatrice and her team wore black jerseys with caterpillar graphics, neon green tutus and matching hats with their names on them as they competed in the race—and members of the Royal Family were on hand to support them.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, joined by Beatrice's little sister, Princess Eugenie, took photos and cheered for the princess on the sidelines. Beatrice also kept her family in mind while running the marathon, as she participated on behalf of her mother's charity Children in Crisis.

Ferguson told the BBC at the time (via the Daily Mail) that she was proud of her daughter for finishing the race, sharing, "For so long I've been trying to get her fit and now she's showing me up today. I've just decided that if she's such a good role-model to me then next year I'm going to do it."

Although the Duchess of York didn't make good on her promise to compete, her sister-in-law, Duchess Sophie, did take part in the 2020 London Marathon. Sophie, who is married to Prince Edward, ran 1.5 miles during the socially distanced event on behalf of her royal patronage, Mencap, but didn't compete in the full race.

And although Prince William, Princess Kate and Prince Harry have all taken part in the marathon by handing out medals and supporting runners, they haven't competed themselves. In fact, Kate told journalist Bryony Gordon (via Runner's World) that she wasn't allowed to take part.

"I can't remember exactly what happened, but I was like, 'Are you going to run the marathon?' And she was like, 'Oh I can't because security is a bit difficult,'" Gordon revealed.