Princess Beatrice is said to have ‘lost all hope’ of becoming a working Royal thanks to the deepening scandal engulfing the House of York.
Friends of Beatrice, the eldest daughter of the beleaguered Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, say she would have been keen to help ease the burden on King Charles and Prince William by carrying out more Royal engagements.
The King is said to have been impressed by her elegance and enthusiasm during recent joint appearances and is keenly aware of the need to boost the number of working Royals as he continues to be treated for an undisclosed form of cancer and the Princess of Wales recovers from her own battle with the disease.
But with his strict stance against half-in-half-out Royals working for the Firm, nothing yet has ever come of their mutual appreciation. Now aides insist nothing ever will.
New files showing phone message logs, copies of flight logs and manifests for aircraft, as well as copies of financial ledgers belonging to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein were released by Congressional Democrats in the US on Friday night, naming the Duke of York, as well as billionaire Elon Musk, among them.
It comes after revelations about Prince Andrew became clear in biography Entitled by Andrew Lownie, and the emergence of grovelling emails sent by the Duchess of York to Epstein. All are said to have cast doubt over whether it would be appropriate for 37-year-old Beatrice – ninth in line to the throne – to take on a more prominent role.
The Mail on Sunday understands that courtiers have concerns about further damaging revelations that will emerge about the duke’s relationship with the convicted paedophile after reports that the Epstein Files contain a cache of more than 100 emails that ‘could destroy Andrew’.
Friends of Princess Beatrice say she would have been keen to help ease the burden on King Charles and Prince William by carrying out more Royal engagements. Pictured: Beatrice with husband Edoardo last week
Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York alongside other Royal Family members at the funeral for the Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral on September 16
Sarah Ferguson sent the fawning email to Epstein calling him a ‘supreme friend’ after publicly calling him a paedophile
A source close to her said: ‘Beatrice does want to be a working Royal and she wants to do Royal events to help her uncle because she’d enjoy them and she would be good at the job.
‘Charles apparently appreciates this . . . There had at one stage been a feeling that Bea could have been lined up one day. She’s never put a foot wrong, don’t forget – and she shouldn’t be punished for the sins of her father. But the King’s courtiers are concerned Andrew could try to ‘get in via the back door’ by exerting influence over her.’
She put on a brave face last Thursday when she was spotted at lunch with husband Edoardo at Scott’s in London’s Mayfair.
Last week, the MoS revealed the Duchess of York had emailed Epstein in 2011, after his conviction as a sex offender, calling him a ‘supreme friend’ for bailing her out financially. Eight charities removed her as a patron or ambassador. On Saturday night, friends of the Duchess of York insisted that Beatrice preferred doing her own charity events to Royal events.
