Princess Beatrice's plans for working royal life revealed after stepping in for King Charles
Prince Andrew's daily life is worlds away from the one he enjoyed before stepping away from public life in 2019, in the aftermath of his doomed friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
His diary, once filled with outings, engagements and global travel now lies empty, which is why, royal watchers believe, he has clung on to Royal Lodge as a constant in his life.
The family home, which he continues to share with the Duchess nearly four decades after their divorce, is where he spends precious time with his daughters and grandchildren.
The Duke's changed circumstances have renewed the focus on his daughters, both young mothers who are juggling careers and support for their patronages with concern for their father and stepping out to support the King and Prince of Wales, when required.
Earlier this month, Beatrice took up an invitation from the King's Foundation to visit its Future Textiles exhibition at the Garrison Chapel in Chelsea, where she spent time chatting to students from its embroidery programme, which is run in partnership with Chanel.
The Princess, who is patron of the Royal Ballet School, tried her hand at embroidery and spent time chatting about the art, which is widely used in theatrical costumes.
It was seen as a show of support for her uncle King Charles, who is passionate about preserving traditional skills.
Beatrice also remains one of the monarch's Counsellors of State, with the authority to deputise for the King if he is absent, although in practice the responsibility only falls to working members of the royal family.
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But palace insiders are adamant that there is no plan for the Princess to take on official royal duties.
"She might help out at things occasionally, such as the Prince of Wales's garden party earlier this year," a royal source tells HELLO! "But it's not a phased introduction into royal duties – it's just her supporting the family."
Meanwhile, with Prince Andrew's days of travelling the world as a UK trade envoy far behind him, his daughters are making their mark at international conferences, most recently in the Middle East.
With Beatrice due to welcome a younger brother or sister for Sienna and stepson Wolfie, eight, early in the New Year, she has been making the most of her relative freedom, jetting to Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi for work in recent weeks.
Known professionally as Beatrice York, she is vice president of the data and software firm Afiniti and founder of BY-EQ, which advises firms on adding more exceptional emotional intelligence in an age of artificial intelligence.
Speaking at the Adipec energy conference in Abu Dhabi on November 4, she described AI as "literally my favourite subject", adding, "I'm probably making it my whole life's mission to think about how hope and technology can kind of work in a collaboration mindset."
The conference was organised by the Abu Dhabi national oil company and the UAE energy ministry with the support of the country's president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, the president of the UAE.
But recent claims that Beatrice was there as an unofficial representative of the UK have been described by Palace insiders as "make believe".
With their own hectic schedules to manage, the Princesses are nevertheless keeping a watchful eye over their father and doing what they can to boost his morale.
To read the full report, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
