The mysterious disappearance of Queen’s working royal leaves just 11 serving

The Queen's cousin Princess Alexandra hasn't been seen for some time as staff drops from 15 to 11

Mysterious disappearance of Queen's cousin, Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy arrive in the royal procession on day 2 of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 20, 2018 in Ascot, England.
(Image credit: Stuart C. Wilson / Stringer Getty)

One of the Queen's working royals, cousin Princess Alexandra, appears to have disappeared leaving just 11 serving the crown as people start to question the mystery of her absence.

Her Majesty appears to have lost another working member of the royal family during the Coronavirus pandemic - without many people noticing. But eagle-eyed royal enthusiasts have picked up on the mysterious disappearance of Queen's cousin Princess Alexandra who has not done a single royal engagement for the last eight months.

Even the best Kindles would struggle to keep someone indoors and away from their royal duties during the world health pandemic. And as a result, the numbers of the working Royal Family has shrunk from 15 to 11 since November 2019 when Prince Andrew "temporarily" stepped away from official duties amid the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Then Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle departed last March before officially stepping down as working royals earlier this year.

Mysterious disappearance of Queen's cousin, Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend the annual Remembrance Sunday Service at The Cenotaph on November 12, 2017 in London, England.

(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo / Contributor Getty)

While many European counterparts have taken steps to reduce numbers, with the latest mysterious disappearance of Queen's cousin, the Windsors appear to have slimmed down working royals by accident so far.

Princess Alexandra's last public engagement, listed in the Court Circular was on July 30, 2020, when she telephoned one of the longest-serving volunteers of the British Red Cross to mark its 150th anniversary. And she was seen recording a video message in December last year to mark Crisis UK's first-ever virtual Christmas Carol concert.

Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the mysterious disappearance of Queen's cousin but royal sources have insisted that the Princess, 84, who has suffered bouts of ill-health including a broken arm that kept her off work in recent years, is currently well and has not retired.

But they could not, however, explain why she has failed to carry out a single official duty in such a long period of time.

The Princess currently lives in Thatched House Lodge, a Crown Estate Property in Richmond Park, southwest London she and her late husband leased at a market rate in 1963.

Despite the mysterious disappearance of Queen's cousin, she remains patron or president of more than 100 organizations, according to the Buckingham Palace website, reflecting a wide range of interests from the arts to health care.

Selina Maycock

Selina is a Senior Entertainment Writer with more than 15 years of experience in newspapers and magazines. She has covered all things Entertainment for GoodtoKnow, Woman&Home and My Imperfect Life. Before joining Future Publishing, Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism. She is fully NCTJ and NCE qualified and has 100wpm shorthand.