There was talk that other family members would have to pick up the slack and increase their workloads, however, according to a recent survey, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie should not take on more prominent roles.
A poll published by the Daily Express found 29 percent of its readers do not think minor royals like Beatrice and Eugenie should pick up duties now Prince Andrew has stepped down, compared to 26 percent who did.
Thirty percent neither agreed nor disagreed, and 14 percent replied that they didn’t know.
It follows speculation over the number of working royals following the departures of the Duke of York – following his links to Jeffrey Epstein and his disastrous Newsnight interview – and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced on January 6 that they would be “stepping back” as senior royals – and their decision has had repercussions throughout the family.
While the couple said they will work to become financially independent, “while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,” their plan to move to North America will no doubt impact the number of duties they’ll undertake.
After the Queen released a statement saying she supports “Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family” it his clear that the Sussexes’ workload will have to be taken on by other royals.
Princess Eugenie and her sister Beatrice were named by some royal commentators as two of the members of the ‘firm’ who could step up and carry out engagements after Meghan and Harry’s exit.
Harry Mount, author of How England Made the English, believes Prince Andrew’s daughters could also take on them some of the workload of their father after he stepped down as a working royal in November.
The author wrote in an op-ed for the I: “Perhaps the only prominent Royals who could take up the slack in Andrew and Harry’s absence are Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
“No one could blame them for their father’s appalling behaviour and no one could say there’s too much on their plate, workwise, at the moment.”