Prince William 'will need' Beatrice and Eugenie despite scandal as slimmed down monarchy could present a problem

Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice have never been working royals and as the scandal engulfing their parents Andrew Mountbatten-Winsor and Sarah Ferguson continues to make headlines this is highly unlikely to ever change. Even so, Woman’s royal editor Emily Andrews believes that the sisters will be needed by Prince William to "help out" when he’s King.

At the moment this seems hard to imagine too, but in her latest Royal Insider column Emily suggested that Eugenie and Beatrice could assist with pomp and ceremony.

"Personally, I think Prince William will need both girls - whom I’ve met and think are decent sorts - when he becomes monarch," she said. "Not as working royals but to help out with the pageantry."

Princess Eugenie and Beatrice used to often step in to support their cousin and uncle King Charles at royal garden parties and other occasions. They’ve got plenty of experience Prince William could rely on when he’s King, especially with reports that he’s keen on keeping the number of working royals as minimal as possible.

Right now there are only eleven working royals and out of these eleven, only the Prince and Princess of Wales and Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are under the age of 70.

Princess Anne told CBC in 2023 that she thought the idea of a slimmed down monarchy was "said in a day when there were a few more people around".

"It doesn't sound like a good idea from where I'm standing, I would say. I'm not quite sure what else we can do," she elaborated.

Unless new working royals are created, Prince William will have a lot of duties resting on just a handful of shoulders. Emily’s remark that he’ll "need" Beatrice and Eugenie makes a lot of sense and she previously said in Woman&Home that she can see Zara Tindall being "handed the patronage of the royal stud in Sandringham" and royal racing at Cheltenham and Ascot.

Whilst Prince William is a keen polo player and has ridden horses all his life, Zara’s career as a professional equestrian and love of attending the races perfectly places her to support him. It might feel like a lot more pressure if she’s the only one helping him out as King, making Eugenie and Beatrice still good people to turn to.

The sisters have been keeping a low profile in recent months and didn’t attend the traditional Easter service at St George’s Chapel.

This was the first big gathering of the Royal Family since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. The King’s brother was also stripped of his Princely title last year and he’s consistently and vehemently denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

The York sisters have kept their Princess titles and Charles is said to be the "one royal" fighting their corner. The idea of Eugenie or Beatrice taking on official roles in his reign might be out of the question for Prince William but, in time, perhaps his cousins could all be called upon for support on rare occasions and alongside the senior royals.

Emily Andrews’ Royal Insider column appears in each issue of Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.