With three of the most senior working royals – King Charles, Princess Kate and Prince William – likely to be out of action for some time, questions have been raised over who could carry out extra royal duties should the need arise.
Queen Camilla, Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will all be near the top of the list, but other members of the family could theoretically be available.
The York sisters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have never been granted official working royal status but as the King plans for a slimmed-down monarchy they have been suggested as popular choices should younger royals be needed, as only four current working royals are under the age of 70.
It seems extremely unlikely that Beatrice and Eugenie would ever agree to this arrangement and for good reason, as they have built their own lives outside the royal bubble.
It is one thing for the sisters to make occasional appearances at large family events such as the Coronation, but it would be a mistake for them to ditch the work they have done so far and commit to full-time royal engagements.
The priority right now for Beatrice and Eugenie is likely not to be work at all, as both of them have been focusing on raising their young families.
Both of them became mothers for the first time in 2021, with Eugenie giving birth to her son August in February and Beatrice’s daughter Sienna arriving in September.
August has since become a big brother too as Ernest came along last May, and as the young cousins grow up together it hardly seems appropriate for their mums to take up more work duties at this time.
As they are not financially supported by the Firm Beatrice and Eugenie have their own jobs, as a technology strategist and art gallery director respectively.
As if that wasn’t enough to keep them occupied, the York daughters have pursued their own charity ventures and patronages outside of the royals which are particularly close to their hearts.
Both Beatrice and Eugenie were diagnosed with conditions as children that they have gone on to speak up for, as Beatrice has dyslexia while Eugenie underwent an operation to correct scoliosis of the spine.
Other causes they support range from ending slavery to working with teenage cancer patients and encouraging young people to get out and explore the world.
While this streak of giving back is strong in the Royal Family, for working royals each member is assigned a number of different patronages, which no doubt Beatrice and Eugenie would be if they were to undertake royal duties full-time.
Not only is it unlikely they would want to detract from their own charity work, it makes sense for them to focus on what they are most passionate about and give as much time to that as they can.
Last May Beatrice and Eugenie appeared at a Coronation garden party on behalf of King Charles, but even more relaxed outings such as this are few and far-between for the sisters.
Instead they have followed in the footsteps of their mother Sarah Ferguson, who in spite of divorcing Prince Andrew thirty years ago has used her royal connections to do good in the world.
Since the separation Fergie has founded her own charity, Children in Crisis, and even her recent cancer diagnoses have inspired her to raise awareness of the importance of checking lumps and moles.
Fergie’s daughters have made it clear how much their mother inspires them, and even the Royal Family have begun to welcome her back into the fold.
No one can deny the importance of the working royals and the amount of time and dedication they give, but for the Yorks the freedom they have has enabled them to tread their own path, and it would be wrong to take that away.
