The double health crisis of King Charles and his daughter-in-law Kate, Princess of Wales, has left an already slimmed-down monarchy almost threadbare. Charles, Prince William, and Kate have all had to step back from royal duties in recent months. Despite this, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have not been asked to perform any royal duties.
A close friend of the royal sisters claimed they are “very upset” to have not been asked to carry out any royal engagements while the Royal Family grapples with the crisis.
Eugenie and Beatrice’s friend told The Daily Beast: “They are very upset to have been ignored by the king as they feel they have a lot to offer, but they’re not surprised. They are sanguine about it.”
Since Charles and Kate’s cancer diagnoses, the monarchy has been officially represented by Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.
The friend added: “It seems mean that the girls aren’t being used at all when they have made it clear they want to be of service, especially when Prince Andrew has been accepted back into the fold. They have done nothing wrong and they shouldn’t be visited with the sins of their father.”
Another source, a friend of the wider family, told The Daily Beast: “Charles is very fond of the York girls but everyone, including them, accepts there is no place for them to be full-time working royals. And as the late Queen Elizabeth made clear, being a part-time working royal isn’t an option.”
Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are thought to be close to Charles and have lived in a four-bedroom apartment in St James’s Palace since their 2020 wedding.
The couple live there with their two-year-old daughter Sienna and Edoardo’s older child from a previous relationship, Wolfie, and even pay market rent.
Beatrice’s younger sister, Princess Eugenie, spends most of her time at a luxury golf and ocean club in Portugal but stays at her sister’s St James’s apartment when she is in the UK.
A former courtier said that “with hindsight” it is clear that the two sisters should have been kept on as working royals.
But, they added: “A dramatic change of course now would not be helpful for anyone. The York girls have built successful lives as private individuals.”
The fears over the slimmed-down monarchy could worsen in the future, with the possibility that Anne may want to scale back her packed schedule in a few years.
Meanwhile, William and Kate are believed to want their three children to avoid full-time working roles until at least their mid-twenties.
