Scobie: Princess Beatrice & Eugenie really should be working royals

Since Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, the minor royals have been sent out on international tours, to little-to-no fanfare. The Countess of Wessex was on a tour in Africa for two weeks and it barely made any international or domestic news. The Duke of Gloucester was apparently in America for six days in October and hardly anyone heard a peep about it. I’ve believed for some time now that the international royal tours are less about international media coverage and more about British-domestic coverage, as in “British taxpayers want to see their royals dressed up in colonialist cosplay and interacting with the ‘natives’.” The problem is when the taxpayers are footing the bill and no one cares about the tours, nor are the tours being covered. Which brings me to Omid Scobie’s latest Yahoo UK column, where he talks about how the new “slimmed down monarchy” is painfully dull, and how they need to inject some glamour in the form of the two York princesses, Eugenie and Beatrice. Some highlights:

The Duke of Gloucester’s American tour: He took on an extensive 19-engagement, six-day official visit to the United States. From glamorous gala dinners and time at NASA’s Space Center in Texas, to charity visits and a tour of The Met museum in New York, it was an itinerary filled with picture-perfect moments that usually make royal trips to America so special. As 30th in line to the throne, the late Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousin has been a full time working royal his entire adult life, carrying out hundreds of engagements in the UK and overseas every year. Hard working and uninterested in courting popularity, he’s made of the stuff expected from working royals—and perfect for picking up the less exciting duties senior members have no time for.

His trip got no coverage: His US trip that got me wondering why there wasn’t anyone else to cover it? I’ve no doubt the Duke did a fine job… but given the work of the Royal Family is part funded by the government and tax payer, surely profitability must play a role here too. Part of the royals’ value is their popularity on the world stage. In America, people can’t get enough of them. So spending all that money on a near week-long visit that no one paid attention to seems like, dare I say it, a bit of a waste.

Busy days in the slimmed-down monarchy: With Countess Sophie travelling around Africa for nearly two weeks at the time of the Duke’s US trip, King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort ploughing through the packed diaries of their new roles, the Wales’ off work for British school holidays (and preparing for a visit to Boston later this month), and Princess Anne having already been to New York for four low-key engagements just weeks earlier, our current slimmed down lineup left few working royals to take on a visit like this.

The downside to King Charles’ pared down monarchy: His suggestion was to focus the future of the family business on his sons and their families. Of course, a lot has happened since then. One of those sons is no longer a working royal and happily living a new life in California. And Prince Andrew, once part of that leaner lineup, was forced to retire due to to the shame of underage sexual assault allegations and his close relationships with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. It’s resulted in a small group of working royals not quite big enough to carry out the present model of engagements.

The York princesses: And it doesn’t need to be this way. In previous years both Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie had expressed interest in undertaking occasional duties on behalf of the Crown, only to be pushed back each time. Their presence didn’t fit in with King Charles’ vision, but perhaps it’s time to revisit that? Because not only is there an increasingly smaller pool of working royals, there’s also a serious lack of youth. Aside from Lady Louise Windsor (who has only just started a four year university degree), there are no other royal adults under the age of 40. And it’s not like the York Princesses aren’t capable of the work.

Beatrice & Eugenie have not been handed everything on a silver platter. Their rejection from royal work and funding saw them venture out into the real world and build their own careers (Beatrice, 34, is currently the Vice President of Partnerships & Strategy for software company Afiniti and Eugenie, 32, is a director at London art gallery Hauser & Wirth). Their experience of life outside of the royal bubble has made them more grounded and, ever-so-slightly, more relatable. And despite not being given roles, the dedication to service they witnessed in their grandmother has lived on in their private lives today. Both are patrons of a number of charities and organisations… All of this is alongside juggling motherhood and, unlike a number of other royals, keeping well out of any drama.

Charles should rethink the York princesses: Since Charles became King there has already been talk of a time when the princesses may see their titles downgraded as the monarch looks at culling the number of title holders in the family. But it feels like he’s missing a trick here. While neither have an interest in becoming full time working royals (or even changing their present lives), utilising Beatrice and Eugenie’s likability seems like a no-brainer to me (especially with so many patronages without homes following the deaths of Prince Philip and the Queen). They have a lot to offer but have been overlooked for so long. Imagine if one, or even both of them, had carried out that US visit? The coverage would have been radically different. After all, princesses are always going to get way more clicks than men in suits ever could.

[From Yahoo UK]

Around the Jubbly this year, it honestly felt like Beatrice was publicly auditioning for a royal role, doing several high-profile charity visits and making appearances around the Jubbly festivities. She was seen much more than the Sussexes during their brief visit to the UK. So, I do think Beatrice would absolutely be down for a larger role, and I think Charles should consider it. But Eugenie? I think Eugenie has a pretty shrewd streak and she sees that becoming a “working royal” would be a giant pain in the ass, especially if she ends up in the new Princess of Wales’s crosshairs. God knows, Kate does love to mean-girl whatever female contemporary is around. There’s absolutely a reason why Kate is the “youngest royal woman” in the working royal clique – that’s exactly what Kate wanted. Eugenie sees that and wants no part. Why would she when she and Jack are making their own money and raising their son away from the royal hassle? But again, Beatrice wants it.

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87 Responses to “Scobie: Princess Beatrice & Eugenie really should be working royals”

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  1. Noki says:

    Eugenie has it ideal if you ask me. And LOL I know this is petty but I would NEVER courtsey to Kate if I were The Yorke sisters and Princess Anne EVEN if Peggington was present.

  2. ChewieNYC says:

    This leads me to ask again, why the F*** was the Duke of Gloucester doing this extensive American tour and NOT Bill and Kate? And yet, their trip to Boston is planned to be just Blah?! Like, who is organizing these things?

    • Rapunzel says:

      It’s just like W&K to get a 78 year old man to do the work for them.

    • Ohso says:

      I mentioned below why he was in the United States. It was not a royal tour. He was supporting two of his charities which have American branches. He is the Grand Prior of the Order of St John, which is an international charity concerned with health. He attended the American main meeting in Texas. He is also the patron of a charity which dates back before the Revolution- the St. George’s Society of New York, which among other things, grants scholarships to CUNY students from Commonwealth countries (mostly first generation people of color and 70% women). He was meeting the scholarship winners. So he was simply supporting his charities – same as he does in the UK. Which he always does with little fanfare.

      • Steph says:

        @ohso Grand Prior of the Order of St. John made me immediately think I ended up in a Dan Brown novel.

    • Jen says:

      19 engagements in 6 days? Bill and Kathy would never 🤣😂🤣

      • Jay says:

        That’s what caught my eye… that’s basically what, 3 events a day for a week? That’s certainly not going to happen with the Wails. Someone should do a side by side of the two visits.

        Not to mention in true keen fashion, they have milked this upcoming trip for all it’s worth, basically the entire second half of 2022 we’ve been hearing about how they are busy “preparing” for this one trip.

    • Debbie says:

      With all due respect, @chewieNYC, who the hell wants Will and Kate here in the US? I personally don’t want any of those jewel-encrusted fossils on these shores if they don’t live here, but don’t go inviting them to visit. For one thing, they’re like the Trumps in that they don’t like to pay their own way. Someone else is always paying the tariff for their food, lodgings, travels, you name it. Let them stay in their own country, where the people don’t mind paying for them. Amen.

    • Jennifer says:

      I presume he actually *wanted* to?

  3. ML says:

    Interesting that Gloucester and Anne have already been to the US this year and W&K are going to be heading there shortly. Why is America so important to the RF?
    Bea is already doing some of the RF’s work. KC doesn’t need to include her, and he still profits a bit by her participation. Until and unless he sees that as a sticking point, he’s not going to welcome his brother’s daughter(s) into the fold.

    • Elizabeth says:

      Beatrice and Eugenie’s security was cut off by the Royal Family long ago; Prince Andrew was footing the bill for that. I can’t imagine Prince Charles giving money from the Sovereign Grant to support Beatrice and Eugenie. He made it clear years ago that he didn’t see the two princesses as working royals; I can’t imagine him changing his mind about that decision.

    • Green girl says:

      I have wondered about the focus on the US too. Is this a reminder that we are allies and should support each other? Because honestly the BRF should first stay home and try to shore up support before heading overseas on any kind of tour.

      That should be the focus: showing everyone that Britain is in good hands after the queen’s passing. Continuity is important right now.

      • molly says:

        Because U.S. press = global press.

        It’s the same with pop culture, celebrities, politics, etc. If the U.S. decides something is newsworthy, that means the rest of the world knows about it too.

      • JanetDR says:

        I’m thinking that since the Royals are just figureheads, continuity is not that important. It’s just a bit of an aberration that QEII was there for so long and the whole world was aware of her reign.
        The bond that our two nations have is not due to any one royal and I dare say will remain unchanged regardless of who the monarch or actual head of government is. (If it could survive Trump…)

      • Isabella says:

        Anti-Americanism played a huge role in the treatment of Meghan, so why do they expect us to love them now.

        I don’t agree with Scobie that Americans can’t get enough of the royal family. It’s fun to read about them from time to time, but that’s it.

      • Debbie says:

        I think you’re right @Molly. From time to time, some of the rota writes a story with the phrasing that H & M were “exiled” to America. From what I saw, H & M left the UK and since then the same rota has been periodically begging, blackmailing, and beseeching them to return (if only for their business model). I’ve never known of people who’ve “exiled” someone, then repeatedly followed them into that so-called “exile.” There people keep going to America, one after another, whether it’s for money or for fame, it’s really pathetic at this point. They should try focusing on the Commonwealth countries.

  4. equality says:

    Why would he be wishing this on them? For the most part B&E have been left alone by the BM lately. If they were working royals, he should know that they would be the scapegoats. Eugenie has her anti-slavery work and environmental things and even got to attend COP, unlike the working royals. Why would she want to be curbed in what she can do and have her family used to deflect bad press from the rest?

    • KC says:

      THIS! That’s what this pared down monarchy has come down to, particularity with no H&M.
      -If anyone is added to it they will be working horses, scapegoats, and props to make KC, Will He Work?, and No Will To Work look better. A role previously assigned to H&M.
      -Beatrice and Eugenie are so much more independent and well-rounded that they might end up in the same situation as M-at least on the outs with No Will To Work. Their addition could possibly work if they could juggle it, they lived outside the BRF bubble, and their partners stayed out of the limelight to prevent any comparisons to the heir apparent and his wife. They may also be able to handle the BM because they know what it’s like.
      -This has setup the demoted lesser royals to beg for scraps and possibly the role of whipping boy in order to stay in KC’s good graces and keep financial support. Which would be an abuse of power IMO.
      -H&M must be so glad to have made their escape when they did!

  5. Esmerelda says:

    But that would be the notorious “half in, half out” deal that we’ve been told would be the most damaging thing for crowned heads since the French Revolution, right?

    I think Beatrice does want it, and I think she would be good at it (and it would calm Andrew down, he could live vicariously through his daughter) – but it’ll never happen, she would outshine Kate, and that’s a big no, as we’ve seen.

    • MsIam says:

      Beatrice seems like she has a personality, unlike the mute, old fashioned woman. Therefore, she would be squashed and mocked, lest she be accused of overshadowing. I hate to say this though, but I wish they would push Beatrice out there more, just so that Keen and her mother would have another target besides Meghan to focus on.

    • LadyHanbury says:

      I think Bea was milking the connection during the Jubbly. I reckon she wants people to firmly remember that she is the late QE2 royal princess. To be honest, her current position grants her with VIP access to the old/new money without the nasty british tabloid heavy scrutiny). We’ll see in the next few months/years. But I reckon, after the pandemic, she’ll be back attending Runway shows, hanging out with her models/actors friends and maybe even doing interview such as vogue’s what’s in my bag or AD’s home tour.

  6. Tacky says:

    The Yorks will never be working royals because every mention of them comes with a mention of their disgraced father. I think Charles wishes they would all move to Portugal.

  7. Tessa says:

    Charles will never allow it.

    • Z says:

      My thoughts exactly, the whole reason behind this supposed slimmed down monarchy was so he could have all the spotlight on himself.

      • KC says:

        Geez Louise! Will Not Work REALLY is his father’s son! I always wondered how they thought to rely on Harry to be his support when they can’t stand not being the spotlight. I guess before Megs his attention was used to distract and he either dated women who were part of the aristocracy or culture and “got it” so they would know and accept their place or were just having fun because they wanted no part of that family. Megs was his twin flame and they enhanced each other in bettering themselves and the world around them and were determined to industriously use their royal influence to that end. She did not understand the cultural hierarchy and old era ways of the institution that only strived to protect and uplift the queen and heir at all costs, to deny yourself with loyalty to a higher calling/purpose and I truly think H didn’t either. The funny thing is when he examined his two choices 1-dysfunctional, toxic birth family and 2-GORGEOUS woman who respects, trusts, loves, and sacrificed for him and gave him a beautiful baby he did exactly what he was trained to do-he denied himself for a higher calling and purpose. Only it wasn’t the one the BRF wanted him to choose or understood, it was the wife and children he loved and would give up everything to honor and protect. I don’t think it was until he met Megs and realized she was his destiny and he pledged his duty and honor to her and his family unit more than anything else that his eyes were opened. His values are different than the BRF who know no honor, are not trustworthy, and don’t respect him. There was no place for him there and the BRF doesn’t understand or empathize with those values.

        People give him so much grief over being bewitched, her wearing the pants, she luring him away from his family and old pals he has disconnected from and only knowing her friends but I don’t think they get that in dysfunctional relationships when you realize you’re entangled with narcissists and manipulators you have to have and enforce boundaries and it can lead to cutting off most people connected to them because either they buy into and encourage their control, are flying monkeys used by them to control from a distance, or are an aspect of dysfunctional relationship themselves. He realized his old pals were a part of the institution or weren’t aligned with his values and he walked away with integrity and honor to fulfill his prioritized duty of BLOOD family that he chose and created. I applaud him for it and am glad he had the wherewithal to see that and the support and partnership of Megs. I do sometimes worry though about him striking out friendless and only knowing her friends and circle but ultimately, they’re probably a whole lot healthier and wholesome than his old pals so there’s that.

      • aftershocks says:

        ^^ Harry has not given up all of his old UK friends @KC. He still has a few close friends who know and love him for himself. Charlie van Straubenzee was seen bicycling with H in California. Plus, Harry probably remains close to a number of under-the-radar cousins and other kin, such as his godmother, Lady Sarah Chatto. Let’s wait and see what Harry has to tell us in his memoir. There’s still a lot we don’t know.

        As well, Harry has friends and important contacts all over the world, forged during his travels. David Foster is one of Harry’s mentors, coincidentally married to an actress M went to school with. Foster and Harry were friends b/f H met M.

      • aftershocks says:

        Another thing I think it’s important to emphasize is that H&M met each other because they had mutual friends and acquaintances, including designer Misha Nonoo, Violet von Westenholz, and Markus Anderson, et al). Some of Harry’s good friends have surely become close to Meghan (Prince Seeiso, David Foster, Elton John, et al), just as some of Meg’s dear friends have become close to Harry (Serena Williams & her hubby Alexis Ohanian, Misan Harriman, et al). In addition, M&H together have made new mutual friendships since their marriage.

  8. Amy Bee says:

    They have the best of both worlds and I don’t think they would want to change that.

  9. Alexandria says:

    Beatrice is looking her best these days. I don’t mind seeing more of her doing royal work (whatever work is), from a fashion perspective.

    As for Eugenie, appears she’s done. She seems like she wants to peace out and raise her family.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      Marriage and motherhood seem to really suit Bea – she seems more confident and comfortable with herself than I have ever seen her. She’s living her best life and given how badly the press have treated her and her sister over the years she’d do well to stay out of the RF line of work. She would be very good at it but sadly Chuck won’t allow either of Andrews daughters to join the family firm – both girls have turned out all right regardless of their sh!tshow parents.

  10. Crybaby says:

    I thought I had read Eugenie and Beatrice had made a point of letting Kate know they were Princess of ‘the blood’ vs Kates middle class background. I. Doubt Kate could have Mean girled them, although she may have tried. Charles stream downed royal family is too meager. He needs some youth and energy. Too bad things turned out as they did.

    • Tessa says:

      Charles could have done things differently. He allowed will to drive out harry.

    • MsIam says:

      You doubt Kate could have “mean-girled” them? Kate who chased other women away from William? Kate who spread and let a lie about Meghan stay out there for years? Girlfriend and her mother have PhD’s in mean-girling.

    • LadyHanbury says:

      There were hundreds of stories when Kate was still waiting that she was being purposely mean to Bea/Eug. Mind you, at the time Waity was in her mid/late 20s while the York princess were in their late teens.

    • BuzzKell says:

      There was some video circulating a while ago, Kate was standing on some steps and Eugenie walked behind her and pushed her forward, and Kate’s head swung around and gave her the stare down. I can’t find it anywhere to share.

      • Nic919 says:

        Eugenie didn’t push her. Basically kate stopped in the middle of the stairs as everyone else was leaving the church and Eugenie bumped into her a bit. Kate, still stopped and in the way, then made a point to turn and look at her while Eugenie kept moving on. Everyone else around them was simply moving forward and out of the way and barely noticed.

      • Becks1 says:

        Was that after a Christmas service? I feel like Kate was in that brown/gray coat. When I watched the video, my impression was that Kate stopped to make sure the cameras got her and Eugenie was not stopping just bc Kate was. Basically Eugenie wasn’t going to yield to Kate.

      • Nic919 says:

        That’s the video I am referring to. It was after a Christmas service and kate basically stopped as everyone else was walking out of the church and so Eugenie wasn’t able to stop in time. But she didn’t push her.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      kHate and Pippa both mean girled the York sisters. There was a story about how kHate cursed out Bea at a charity roller disco IN FRONT of the paps. One of the paps found Bea crying in the toilets. There was another occasion at a fashion show where Bea and Eug were sat in the front row when Pips marched in and demanded that they make space for her, they refused and Pips kicked off. Eventually Pips had to sit in her original seat a few rows behind.

      There is a lot of bad blood between kHate and the York sisters. Not sure why but its likely as they were younger and seen as an easy target for the bullies that are the Middleton sisters – i suspect that they were threatened by their blood princess status.

      • Green girl says:

        I remember hearing about those stories and I was always surprised Kate did that to them. You would think she would have strategized her moves in the Waity years and would have wanted to cultivate a friendly relationship with two of William’s cousins so she could be in their good graces and they could put in the occasional good word for her. (And it would be the right thing to do.) Or did she feel overly confident in her position as William’s girlfriend at that point and she could start telling people off?

      • Mary says:

        @greengirl, you would think so, right? That Kate would have wanted to have been nice to the York sisters to curry favor with other Royal family members. However, I remember it being reported many years ago, I think when William was still a teen, that he looked down upon his cousins; in that, William did not believe that the York princesses were his equal, notwithstanding their “blood princess” status. At the time, I understood this to mean that William viewed his mother’s lineage, and hence his, to be far superior to Fegie’s and her daughters.

        I think a lot of what Kate did was led by either her survival (as girlfriend) instincts or what she thought William would want. What William wanted, William got. This applied not just to Kate but to his family members as well. I think they still kowtow to William.

        If Kate knew that William looked down on the York sisters then that to me would explain Kate’s ill treatment of them. She knew she would get away with it and, who knows, possibly amuse him. We are talking about William of the Scarf who loves to publicly humiliate people.

    • Nic919 says:

      In the dating years there are many occasions where Kate and Pippa mean girled the York sisters. And let’s not forget that kate was born in 82 and Beatrice was born in 88, so kate and Pippa were the much older women being mean to teen girls. The roller derby charity incident was a notable occasion where kate set up Beatrice to look foolish and it was well reported.

      Besides, we have video confirmation of Kate still trying to pull mean girl antics at age 40 toward Meghan, so let’s not pretend she’s gotten any nicer.

  11. Over it says:

    I am sorry but I disagree with sconce, As much as I think the York girls seem like nice people, no one cares about them enough to cover them internationally. I just don’t think they are popular. Plus Eugenie seems happy and content to me, but yeah I can totally see Beatrice wanting the royal lifestyle

    • MsIam says:

      They are more popular than Princess Anne, Ford Fiesta or the Duke of Gloucester is the point Omid is making. Plus the Duke and Anne, like Charles and Camilla are all 70+, how many more years do they have left to tour and do events. Charles and Camilla are going to be spread thin, especially if they plan to rely on the Wails. I think that Charles’ reluctance to use the York girls shows that he knows that Andrew is the biggest threat to the monarchy’s reputation, not Harry and Meghan like the trashloids want you to believe.

    • North of Boston says:

      And also I don’t think Americans have much interest in TRF at this point. There are some pockets of interest maybe, like Cambridge fans or those who follow the Sussexes, but with the death of the Queen and C & C at the top, there’s not a lot of there there.

      Potentially Will and Kate could spark some interest, but they’d have to become entirely different people to pull it off ie have an interest in working, be capable of not showing disdain, irritation, boredom or OTT grinning while interacting with strangers etc, and actually do something meaningful. So likely not going to happen.

  12. equality says:

    This is all overlooking KC supposed “stream-lined” monarchy. If he is looking to model on other European royal houses, he needs to phase out all these cousins and the ones who aren’t direct heirs, not add in.

  13. Cerys says:

    The few working royals left are painfully dull. If there was no coverage of the Duke of Gloucester, Anne and Sophie’s recent trips then surely the fault lies with the royal press offices for not offering more details of their clients’ work.
    I think B and E would be valuable assets to the monarchy but I can’t see why they would want the hassle. They both seem to have idyllic lives with a good mix of privacy and royal family events. Becoming working royals would only open them up to ridicule in the media courtesy of Middleton-friendly reporters especially if they were seen to be more popular than Mrs Wails.

  14. Afken says:

    I think having kids has affected this. Harry & Meghan’s privacy with their babies trickled down to other members of the RF imo & entitled royalists who thought theyd get to gawk at the kids have been annoyed at Bea and Eugenie. Becoming working royals would expose their lives and therefore their kids lives to more scrutiny and I don’t think they’d welcome that. If not for the kids I think the mostly likely to pick up duties despite Beatrice’s auditioning, would actually be Eugenie because… well Jack seems to be THE most um…”middle class” spouse (if you catch my drift) and some sweet Duchy of Lancaster or Cornwall money might help.

    • MsIam says:

      Have we even seen a picture of Beatrice’s daughter yet? And I’m not saying people are entitled to one either. Its just funny considering how another couple was badgered to death to show the world their kids. I know Eugenie used to show some pictures from behind of Augie on her Instagram account.

      • Lauren says:

        I checked the other day after reading the column and there is still no pictures of Sienna at all

      • Jen says:

        Bea’s pregnancy was so low key I didn’t even realize she’d had a baby until I read it in one of those updated lines of succession pieces following the Queen’s death.

  15. Harper says:

    So basically Omid is campaigning for more fashion to be connected to the royal brand beyond what they get from Kate. Obviously, Omid saw those photos of the Remembrance Day concert that showed a royal box full of duds and is lamenting the motley group they are left with.

    • duchess of hazard says:

      @Harper, supposedly word is, the Palaces won’t advise on what Kate’s wearing anymore, because it’s implied that her dress choices overshadow her good works.

      • BuzzKell says:

        I’d like someone to point out Kate’s good work. I have yet to see any, but her new clothes are glaringly obvious.

      • Debbie says:

        Princess Diana, who was well known for her fashion, never had her work overshadowed by what she wore. And we’re talking puffed-up 80s fashion here.

  16. BuzzKell says:

    I love it. Two months in and Charles’ version of his vision of the slimmed down monarchy is as exciting as a bran muffin. Well deserved, and I love Scobie for reiterating how boring they all are. I think Charles’ reign could have used some drama and excitement from The Crown, unfortunately, that was just as boring as his dusty marriage.

  17. Athena says:

    We don’t know that Beatrice wants it. As far as I can recall, she herself has never said that she wants it and no friend of Beatrice has said that she want it. Her husband is a property developer, he sells homes to rich people, I’m sure the two of them getting a little coverage during the jubilee helped his business, especially after the pandemic. Neither Beatrice nor Edo are going to sacrifice their children for the crown, which will happen if she becomes a working royal.

  18. Becks1 says:

    i don’t think people care about B&E as much as Scobie thinks they do. If Beatrice or Eugenie had done the same tour as the Duke of Gloucester? It might have gotten some more attention in the US, but not a lot more. Most Americans don’t know who they are beyond “the ones who wore the ugly hats at Will and Kate’s wedding,” if they know that much about them.

    At any rate I don’t think it will happen, because if they’re working royals, it only calls to attention the fact that their father is not.

    • Lucy says:

      Right. I can see how I would’ve seen a pic of a York princess at a NASA event, here in Texas, but I don’t think it would’ve been more than a photo with a three sentence caption.

    • Brassy Rebel says:

      I agree, Becks1. There’s no untapped longing in America to see more British royals. And while the two York daughters may be young and have more personality than the late queen’s septuagenarian cousin ( it was silly to think anyone would be thrilled to see him), there’s no interest in seeing them either. There was a certain amount of interest in Elizabeth II because she had been there forever. The rest of them, especially Andrew’s daughters, not so much. It’s unfortunate for them, but they are always going to be the pedo’s daughters first and foremost in the minds of Americans on the rare occasions they think of them at all.

    • Nic919 says:

      Scobie is looking for new material with the York sisters, but the elephant in the room is that if William and Kate were actual superstars and working as much as the previous prince and princess of wales, they wouldn’t need to start looking for other options.

      The truth is that William and Kate and boring and worse than that they are simply lazy.

      • Becks1 says:

        I feel like this was the not so subtle point of the article, right? The York Princesses need to be working royals bc W&K don’t work.

  19. E.A says:

    If I was them I wouldn’t all the privilege of being a working member is not enough for the scrutiny, live your lives girls travel when you want, do what you want e.t.c. I don’t envy any working members, they have the best deal

  20. Wendy says:

    Eh – they don’t need to be popular and grabbing headlines all over the world — you rarely see coverage of the other Monarchies peppered around the planet. Given the current financial issues in the UK, it makes far more sense to me that the BRF quietly put it’s head down and go about the work (yes, yes, I know…work) and not call a lot of attention to themselves.

  21. Athena says:

    Elizabeth was young and glamorous when she became queen, the beautiful Princess, the handsome husband with a sad past, the tragic death of her father, the king at a relatively youngish age. It captured people’s imagination. Charles peaked when he married Diana and it’s been downhill ever since.

    Americans were interested in the Principality of Monaco when the young glamorous movie star, Grace Kelly married the Prince. There was added interest in Jordan when the young beautiful Lisa Halady, an American, married the King of Jordan.

    No one is interested in a bunch of old, boring, stuffy, awkward, uncharismatic people. The British aristocrat humor does not translate well on the global stage. Kate may have captured people’s interest when she first married William, but she is not aging well, she shows very little personality or humor. She’s the UK’s version of Melania. Charles let his two best assets walk out the door, the handsome young prince and the beautiful American actress.

  22. Ohso says:

    The Duke of Gloucester was in Texas in his capacity as Grand Prior of the Order of St. John, which has branches around the world including the U.S. He was in NYC as the patron of the St. George’s Society of New York (founded 1770) to thank the charity for awarding $1.4 million in scholarship funding to 450 CUNY students since 2008, including over $1 million to nearly 350 Lehman students. The scholarships are for students who trace their heritage to one of the 56 Commonwealth nations, including Jamaica, Ghana, Nigeria and Trinidad. The CUNY students are primarily first-generation college students of color and 70 percent female.

    So he wasn’t in the US for a formal royal visit. He was supporting the charities he has which have connections in the United States.

  23. Ceej says:

    The glorious shade of pointing out everyone else was working hard so couldn’t do the US tour… while the FK and his wife were taking off school holidays. (And planning in brackets, to appease any complaints from their fans) How scrumptious.

  24. Pumpkin (Was Sofia) says:

    Oh I don’t know if Bea wants to be a working royal. 10 years ago? yeah sure. But now I’m not so sure. I imagine she likes being a Princess without the scrutiny and she can do whatever she likes without having to do some “work” in exchange for it. Plus Bea spent her 20s being “Cinderella’s ugly step sister” compared to Kate. Does she want to spend her 30s and beyond living through that again? And have a public role attached to it this time round?

    And I don’t really agree that they’d get more attention? A little okay but if they were going to be interesting for the press, they would have covered them regardless of their working royal status.

  25. P says:

    I really did LOL at your choice of thumbnail photo for this piece.

    I thought Kate already had a hate on for the York sisters over the years. I’m sure I’ve seen stuff in the past about Kate mean girling them.

  26. tamsin says:

    The Windsors simply need to stay in the UK and be visible to all and sundry there. Do the bread and butter. They only need the support of the UK people. There is no need for them to be touring the world anymore. When they are abroad, they should be connected with representing the government as head of state, like the continental royals. They should recognize their shrunken status and appeal. People are not generally interested in people because they are “royals” anymore. They need to be interesting and productive people to capture interest, or at the least beautiful and talented. None of those adjectives apply to the main Windsor line.

  27. Vanessa says:

    The York’s sister would be fools to want to actually be working royals they will be targeted by the press . To cover up for William and Kate laziness Kate would absolutely not want to have the sisters in the spotlight their both young and have cute kids for the royal reporters and royalist to gushed over . Kate has the spotlight all to herself there no way in hell she would be willing to share the spotlight again with two woman she can’t stand.

    • Well Wisher says:

      The spotlight is never enough for Kate, but the main reason for their exclusion would be the Sovereign Grant and security expenses.
      Their contributions are seen as expenses.

      The York’s are capable to be at least part time working royals, with their low key approach.

      Charity work is usually deemed local, just perfect to ensure a certain amount of privacy.

      For example, there are no public images/pics of Beatrice’s daughter.

      Finally, it is at the King’ s discretion.

    • Well Wisher says:

      Repeat.

  28. HamsterJam says:

    I LOVE that pale green dress Bea is wearing and she looks fantastic in it

  29. L4Frimaire says:

    What exactly does they mean? That they be half in/out? Give up their jobs and salaries? Put their kids on display? They’d start in on Edo’s son and his mom. Would they have to work with the nasty Rota, who would immediately pit them against Kate and pick at their weight, wardrobe costs, everything they say? There is no reason they shouldn’t be able to support the monarchy while doing their day jobs, but Charles and Will are such control freaks and would make them miserable in the process. That Sussex shine is long gone. Did Scobie even find out if this is what they even want?

  30. Jaded says:

    In America, for the most part royalty is irrelevant. With the exception of Diana who was charismatic, hard-working and compassionate, KC3 and the Rottweiler have all the charisma of an English muffin, and the Keens are stupid, lazy cardboard cutouts. The Commonwealth countries are looking VERY closely at how redundant it is having a monarch as head of state when said monarch’s antecedents were responsible for enslaving, pillaging and subjugating the countries they overran. I know Canada doesn’t care about royal visits, they’re a pain in the butt to manage, expensive, and who likes to bow and scrape to some anachronistic fuddy-duddies? The Commonwealth is rapidly shrinking and being much more open and opinionated about the uselessness of the BRF. I don’t think Bea and Eug want anything to do with being working royals, especially after the Epstein/Maxwell disaster — Andrew has pointed a very harsh light on the indecencies and crimes he and others were allowed to get away with over the years, and with a very transparent social media exposing them, warts and all, who wants that? They’re both working in great jobs, married with babies, and for the most part the BM leaves them alone. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

  31. karkopolo says:

    So I actually think Scobie is right on this–for Beatrice, though, like you said. Eugenie is thriving on her own. Beatrice is a princess by birth, she & her hubs are young and not unattractive, etc. She could bring some minor star power & interest to the working royals.

    Chuck & Will? They would never have it. Chuck has been fighting Andrew on them being included for decades. But I think the biggest thing is that Chuck & Will (and by extension, Kitty) would never allow it because she could outshine them.

  32. Saucy&Sassy says:

    “Part of the royals’ value is their popularity on the world stage. In America, people can’t get enough of them. ”

    Omid, you’ve been drinking the Kool aid. Why do the British think that Americans “can’t get enough” of the brf? That ship sailed long ago. I think people were interested in Lizzie in her younger year–lots of sparkle. Princess Di was very well like by many here because of her compassion and what she did for Aids and then her work on land mines. There were many ways she showed her compassion. To top it off, she had charisma.

    Fails and Wails might have garnered some interest after they were first married, but they haven’t done anything since to become interesting. If any Americans have paid attention, it was when Meghan starting dating Harry and subsequently married him. If people weren’t paying attention during the dating years or after they were married, they became aware of the racist and anti-American sentiments of the brf after the Oprah interview. That’s still not all Americans. Believe me, if anyone is interested in anyone it’s Harry and Meghan, except for the MAGAs who are thrilled that there are other racists that they can lay claim to. Fails and Wails are welcome to them.

  33. Jennifer says:

    I would reasonably assume that because they’re Andrew’s daughters, they wouldn’t be allowed to do this if they wanted to. Maybe if that news hadn’t come out, sure, but they’re close enough to him that if you put a spotlight on them, a bit of Andrew gets seen and all that.

  34. Noor says:

    I think Omid Scobie got it wrong this time. Princess Bea and Eugenie should not be co-opted to a fulltime royal role as we already have Princess Anne, Edward and Sophie. A constitutional monarchy should be confined to the King, his heir and a small supporting cast to reduce cost. The elected MPs and Ministers should perform some of the duties of ribbon cuttings and charities visits as being done in democratic countries without royals.

  35. Maremotrice says:

    One thing that’s struck me about the older generation (well, older than me at any rate) is how they’re quick to swallow the tabloid narrative about the York princesses being spoiled, useless, waste of taxpayers’ money etc but in the next breath they praise the likes of Princess Alexandra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Alexandra,_The_Honourable_Lady_Ogilvy) because she “does things”. I would have thought that princesses who have the perspective of working outside the royal bubble in tech and art would have far more to offer to a social engagement than someone who’s been a professional ribbon-cutter all her life (apart from a stint at Great Ormond Street Hospital – what was she “trained” for exactly?)

    From what I’ve seen of the York princesses they are far better public speakers than their cousin-in-law Kate (not much of a comparison I know). Also the one time they went on an official overseas tour – to Berlin in 2013 – I was impressed that Beatrice took the trouble to introduce herself in impeccable German. Whereas when Kate showed up on her 2017 tour of Poland and Germany she freely admitted that she’d forgotten all the German she’d learnt at high school and asked a child in the crowd how to say “My name is Catherine”. That was according to Hello! magazine. When the world’s most sycophantic magazine makes you look pathetic, you’re in serious trouble.

    But moving on … Another Princess Alexandra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Alexandra_of_Luxembourg) is getting married next spring. Assuming that an invitation is extended to the House of Windsor, who should represent us? Kate has apparently previously met the bride-to-be during her visit to the Grand Duchy but Eugenie is closest in age and as an ex-pat in Portugal may relate better to a cosmopolitan continental crowd … just sayin’.

  36. jferber says:

    Isabella, yes. They only royals I really liked were Diana, Harry and Meghan. The others we may read about, but only for nasty gossip fun. Most of them I actually despise. And I definitely despise Will and Kate. Perhaps they consider that “interest” adulation? They’re so stupid, they probably would. You can’t argue with inbreeding and incuriosity.

  37. Matilde says:

    Beatrice & Eugenie behaved disgracefully at Harry & Meghan’s wedding. They’re dickheads, like their entire family.