Prince Andrew’s daughters have made a number of visits to the Middle East, leading experts to suggest they are becoming unofficial “cultural ambassadors” in the region.
Princess Beatrice, 36, has appeared at two conferences in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi in the past month, while Princess Eugenie, 34, has attended events in Qatar.
The visits came as their father, the Duke of York, came under pressure to reveal the source of the windfall that has allowed him to remain in Royal Lodge. Last week The Times revealed he had convinced Buckingham Palace authorities that he had sufficient means, likely to be millions of pounds, to pay for his own upkeep at the 30-bedroom mansion.
Beatrice told the Adipec energy conference in Abu Dhabi that the UK’s contribution to the artificial intelligence revolution was “great talent, great individuals”.
The princess, who founded BY-EQ in 2022, spoke about AI, calling it “literally my favourite subject”. She said: “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 under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the president of the UAE.
• Prince Andrew finds funds to stay at Royal Lodge
It followed her trip to Saudi Arabia for the Future Investment Initiative, in the last week of October. Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi Arabian wealth fund, is one of the trustees.
It was the second time she had been to Saudi Arabia this year, after joining the special meeting of the world economic forum at the end of April in the capital, Riyadh.
Princess Beatrice says AI is her favourite subject
SPLASH
Beatrice, who is vice-president of the tech company Afiniti, has been juggling the trips alongside bringing up her daughter Sienna, three. The palace announced last month that she was pregnant with her and her husband Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi’s second child.
The region has also attracted Princess Eugenie, who is as an art director at the Mayfair gallery, Hauser and Wirth. The mother-of-two was pictured in Doha, Qatar, at the M7 art centre, and at the Chaumet and Nature exhibition.
Princess Eugenie at the Ellsworth Kelly at 100 exhibition at the M7 art centre, Doha
This followed her attendance at a dinner last year hosted by Sheikha al-Mayassa, the sister of the country’s emir, in London, to celebrate the winners of a Fashion Trust Arabia prize.
Jennifer Gnana, the Gulf correspondent for Al-Monitor, saw Beatrice networking at the events. She said: “Along with her sister Eugenie, Beatrice is now a regular at Saudi economic and investment conferences. She’s become a culture ambassador of sorts for the UK in the Middle East.
“She seems a popular, more accessible figure in the Middle East, particularly as we’re seeing fewer senior royals such as the King, Prince William and Kate making visits here.
“I suppose Princess Beatrice represents a more modern and accessible face of the British monarchy that works for engagement in the Middle East. They seem easygoing and engage freely with people. You don’t really see royal protocol with them.”
Their reception has been compared to that of Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner. “Those with business backgrounds and associated with a world leader or a royal family tend to do particularly well here,” Gnana said.
In addition to her appearances in the Middle East, Beatrice also attended technology conferences in Orlando and Geneva, in March and June respectively.
Questions about Prince Andrew’s finances
Speculation is growing about the Duke of York and whether he has re-entered the world of business, helping him to keep Royal Lodge on the Windsor Park estate.
It is thought Andrew would be required to pay £275,000 annual rent, contribute to the £3 million-a-year security bill and pay for repairs at Royal Lodge, part of the Crown Estate. Sir Michael Stevens, keeper of the privy purse, has sanctioned the funds as having come from a legitimate source.
Andrew with his mother, the late Queen, in 2015
DOMINIC LIPINSKI/PA
This week there were fresh calls for Buckingham Palace to declare where Andrew’s money was coming from.
Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, said: “Real transparency is absolutely crucial when we are seeing such an increase in the sovereign grant. This is somebody who has been asked to leave their property, they are not fulfilling any public duty and there are still question marks over his personal affairs.
“People are struggling. Why should he have a grace and favour home when so many people in this country don’t have a home?”
Andrew convinced palace authorities that he had sufficient means to pay for the upkeep of Royal Lodge
THE MEGA AGENCY
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, could also be dragged into the row over the Royal Lodge because the Treasury receives the income from the Crown Estate and has “general oversight” of its business.
Andrew’s only official income is his £20,000-a-year navy pension, but he has continued to finance a luxury lifestyle.
In recent years, he has developed a network of business contacts in central Asia and the Middle East as a trade envoy for the UK, and later as the head of the investment accelerator Pitch@Palace.
Andrew has previously done deals with Timur Kulibayev, the Kazakh oligarch, and David Rowland, the property billionaire, and he also sold the Swiss chalet he jointly owned with Sarah, Duchess of York, in 2022.
It is understood Andrew retained a significant inheritance from his grandmother, the Queen Mother, who died in 2002, but the Queen’s entire estate passed to her successor, King Charles, on her death.
York women remain in favour with Buckingham Palace
The King is fond of his nieces and their mother, and Charles is mindful of the fact that Sarah, like him, has received treatment for cancer.
There had been a hope from sources close to the King that Andrew’s former wife might be able to encourage the duke to “see sense” and move out of Royal Lodge. Despite divorcing in 1996 the Yorks still live together at the 30-room home in Windsor Great Park.
Yet they have come under pressure to move to Frogmore Cottage, the former home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Frogmore has the benefit of being within the Windsor security cordon.
In a recent interview Sarah said of her living situation: “When I’m in the UK, I’m lucky enough to stay at Royal Lodge. I wouldn’t call it my home as that would be presumptuous.”
Prince Andrew and his ex-wife still live together at the 30-room home in Windsor Great Park
CHRIS JACKSON/AFP
Sarah would not need to rely on the continued generosity of the King as she has her own assets. Two years ago she bought a £5 million home in Mayfair, which she rents out. She also travels around the world to promote her latest historical romance novel, A Most Intriguing Lady.
Dame Joan Collins described the book as “very entertaining”, while Lord Fellowes of West Stafford said it was “well-researched, well-realised and rich in historical detail”.
This month Sarah flew to Australia to promote the new novel and a children’s book Flora & Fern: Wonder in the Woods.
Sarah, Duchess of York, has a £5 million home in Mayfair, which she rents out
KIRSTY O’CONNOR/PA
In Sydney, she visited the Children’s Medical Research Institute as a guest of the charity Jeans for Genes and flew to Perth for a book signing.
Speaking on the Jess Rowe Big Talk Show podcast, she described the late Queen as “legendary” and said that she was “more my own mother than my own mother”. How lucrative her writing work has been is unclear, however.