Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie wouldn’t be able to step up as working royals due to the Sussexes’ “half in, half out” rule, a royal expert has claimed. Royal correspondent Natasha Livingstone said if the York sisters were to become more involved in royal life, it would revive the controversy over whether members can do the job part time.
Ms Livingstone, who writes for the Mail on Sunday, was debating which royals could take on more duties to support the monarchy while King Charles and Princess Kate grapple with their cancer diagnoses.
She told podcast Palace Confidential: “Both sisters are busy already. They are both mothers and both have charities and organisations they spend a lot of time working on. If they were to become more involved in royal life, then we come back to that issue of the ‘half in, half out royals’ which obviously is a very controversial issue, particularly with Prince Harry, so I can’t see how that would happen without it creating futher problems down the line.”
Prince Harry has said previously that he had asked for a “half in, half out” arrangement during talks with The Firm about his and Meghan’s future role following the annoucement they would step back as working royals.
He wanted both himself and his wife, Meghan Markle, to be able to take up jobs of their own, but still work in support of Queen Elizabeth II. The Duke of Sussex said in his Netflix docu-series that it became clear “very quickly” that that idea was not up for discussion.
Instead, Buckingham Palace announced Harry and Meghan would no longer be working members of the Royal Family and would lose their Royal Highness statuses.
Since their exit, the Sussexes have pursued a number of lucrative projects, including deals with Netflix, Spotify and a book deal which led to the publication of Harry’s bestselling bombshell memoir, Spare.
Some royal watchers have suggested Harry now wants to return as a part time working royal to help out his family in a “half in, half out” arrangement.
Daily Mail diarist Richard Eden told the same podcast that there is a “big difference” between the Sussexes’ and Beatrice and Eugenie.
He said in response to Ms Livingstone: “I think there’s a big difference with them because they’re not trying to make a fortune. Yes, they have jobs… but it’s not like Harry and Meghan where they had plans for seriously making a fortune. So that was going to be more awkward.
“Carrying out a few more engagements while working from an art gallery – I can’t really see that as a huge problem.”
Besides being a patron of a number of organisations and charities, Princess Beatrice works as Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy at tech firm, Afiniti.
Eugenie works for charities including Children in Crisis and Anti-Slavery International. She has also taken up a position at art gallery, Hauser & Wirth.
Mr Eden praised Beatrice and Eugenie as “great ambassadors” for the Royal Family, adding they could do more and have learnt a lot from their grandmother, Elizabeth II.
He said: “They are always diplomatic, sensible. They have never put a foot wrong… It would be great if they did have a bigger role.”
But Ms Livingstone noted a further complication in what provision would be made for the siblings’ security, should they step up.
She concluded: “What would they do, for example, about their security? I don’t think they have state-funded security. If they were going out more as a working royal, would that change? Would the public want to pay for that? It raises a lot of questions that I’m not sure the Palace want to deal with.”
