As of press time, Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice is not a working member of the royal family. In the 1990s, it was decided that she and her younger sister, Princess Eugenie, would not take official royal roles and would remain private citizens.
The decision further means, they would not be receiving annual allowances from the Sovereign Grant, and must earn a living to support themselves. In 2011, as they became adults, their police protection officers were also removed.
The "Secret" Royal Unit
The "future" of the York sisters within the royal family had been tackled during the confidential meeting of the Way Ahead Group in the 1990s.
Way Ahead Group, according to royal sources, was a "secret royal unit" formed in the late part of the 1990s to address critical issues about the monarchy, and how to mitigate them.Â
This unit was also formed to safeguard the future of the British monarchy after a series of scandals brought by the messy marriages of the Queen's three children had shaken up the establishment.Â
The Way Ahead Group was composed of The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Princess Royal, The Duke of York, The Earl of Wessex, The Lord Chamberlain, and the Queen's private secretaries.
During the discussion, it was agreed that the children of The Duke of York and The Earl of Wessex would not take royal roles in the future to limit the number of working royals, in order to reduce the financial burden of the government.Â
In the same discussion, the group also proposed that Prince Andrew's daughters would be stripped of their titles as princesses since they would not be working royals, and just be given the title of "Lady" just like Prince Edward's daughter, Lady Louise.Â
Prince Andrew agreed on the part that his daughters would not be working royals, but reacted on the stripping of the royal titles. He insisted that as granddaughters of the reigning British sovereign in the male line, it's his daughters' birthright to be HRH. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh agreed, and thus, Beatrice and Eugenie remained princesses with HRH styles.Â
Way Ahead Group also echoed Prince Charles's plan to slim down the monarchy, just like in Sweden, Norway, and Spain, once he becomes king. The purpose of this is to reduce the number of working royals, not just to cut expenses, but also to spare the British throne from further humiliation in case the extended royal family members would be involved in scandalous issues.Â
This "trimming" down means no more extended royal family members who will be working royals once Prince Charles ascends the throne, and the "House of Windsor" must be limited only to the family of the monarch and his direct heir (The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children).
The bomb!
The plans, however, backfired when The Duke of Sussex and The Duke of York unexpectedly stepped down from public duties, leaving only 11 royal family members who are currently taking royal roles, seven of whom are already in the advanced age: The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Princess Royal, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandra.Â
As the Queen has already limited her public appearances due to mobility issues, and her cousins are on the brink of retirement, senior royal roles and royal patronages are left to seven family members (The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Anne, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Earl and Countess of Wessex) juggling their time with jampacked schedules.
Lately, it looks like Princess Beatrice is taking things slowly to become a working royal, stepping into the limelight after the downfall of her father, sharing the load of royal duties with other working family members.Â
She has been included to welcome guests at the Queen's garden parties, alongside working royals such as The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandra.Â
This possibility sounds not far from reality because the Queen's cousins are already in their prime years - The Duke of Gloucester is 77, The Duke of Kent is 86, and his sister, Princess Alexandra is 85. Their public appearances in the coming months are understood to be limited.
So what will happen when Princess Bea becomes a working royal?
Currently, Princess Beatrice has a full-time job as the Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy at Afiniti Ltd, an American multinational data and software company, which focuses on the development of artificial intelligence for use in customer call centers.
Should she transition to a working royal role, Princess Beatrice would be required to give up her full-time job to focus on royal duties.Â
She will also receive annual allowances from the Sovereign Grant for performing public duties and will have a police protection officer to accompany her when attending public engagements.Â
Her husband, Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi, just like the respective husbands of Princess Anne and Princess Alexandra (Sir Timothy Laurence and the late Sir Angus Ogilvy), has no need to become a working family member, therefore, free to continue his private life as a property developer.Â
Currently, Princess Beatrice has her own royal patronages. The York Musical Society and the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre, a charity that she largely credited for helping her overcome her own academic challenges due to dyslexia. Recently, she attended the World Dyslexia Forum in Stockholm with the Swedish royal family.
In addition, Princess Beatrice is also a global ambassador to Street Child, a nonprofit organization founded by her mother in 1993. She also supported the Big Change Charitable Trust, the Teenage Cancer Trust, and the Berkshire Community Foundation, among others.
Princess Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi, an Italian nobleman (his aristocratic title in Italy is Count Mapelli-Mozzi), on July 17, 2020, in a private ceremony attended by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. It was also the last family event attended by Prince Philip before he died in April 2021.
Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi have one daughter together, Siena Elizabeth, born on September 18, 2021. Siena is eligible to use the title "Donna"Â just like the daughters of Italian and Spanish aristocrats.
She obtained a Bachelor's degree in History and History of Ideas from Goldsmiths College in 2011 and initially worked as a research analyst at a boutique private wealth firm in New York before moving back to London in 2017.
As for her younger sister, Princess Eugenie, no discussion was heard about her assuming royal duties in the near future.
Currently, Princess Eugenie has also a full-time job as an Art Gallery director at Hauser and Wirth in London. She obtained a Bachelor's degree in English literature and Art History from Newcastle University in 2012.
This possibility of Princess Beatrice's transitioning to a working royal role is still on the discussion table of the royal family and might be confirmed in due course.Â
Let's wait and see.Â
OOTD of Princess Beatrice:
On May 25, 2022, she joined the working members of the royal family in welcoming guests at the Queen's garden party in Buckingham Palace. She donned a monochrome midi dress from Self-Portrait clothing brand, black suede pumps from Jimmy Woo, and an elegant dandelion headband from Camilla Rose Millinery.
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