Speculation is growing that Princess Beatrice may be taking on her father’s former role as she was spotted hosting a high-profile event among influential guests in Saudi Arabia. While the former Prince was falling even further from grace last week, it has emerged the Princess was “determined to carry on the show”, and step up her public appearances.
Beatrice was pictured at the Future Investment Initiative at the five-star Riyadh Ritz-Carlton last week, believed to have been attended by some of the richest and most influential guests in the Kingdom, including assembled Royals, energy bosses and high-powered bankers.
The women’s only event was billed as an “afternoon tea hosted by Princess Beatrice of York” alongside Canadian wellness entrepreneur Roma Bose, and a US company called The Lioness Collective, at one of Saudi Arabia’s most expensive hotels.
What went on behind closed doors in the hotel’s Executive Lounge is unknown, but the afternoon was described as an opportunity to share “insights and bold ideas for investing in women, wellness, and the next generation of leaders”.
One guest noted how Beatrice’s appearance fronting the tea party on October 27, which ran for 90 minutes, “couldn’t have been easy”.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, they added: “No-one would have blamed her if she had pulled out of this high-profile event, but she was determined to grit her teeth and carry on with the show, and I think people respected that.”
It came just three days before Buckingham Palace announced the King had “initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew”.
The disgraced Andrew was also given formal notice to leave the Royal Lodge, as fresh revelations emerged over his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and allegations of sexual assault against him by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre. Andrew has always denied these accusations.
With her public appearances rubbing shoulders with wealthy envoys, which was typically the role of her father, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, speculation is rising that she could be taking over his former role as UK trade envoy, which aims to support the Government’s international trade and investment goals.
Journalists also speculated that the Princess was an “unofficial ambassador” for the UK when she was pictured next to Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also the UAE’s president, and her father’s former acquaintance, last November, during a public appearance in the Kingdom.
Reporters were banned from the meeting, which included the CEOs of Shell and EDF, the vice-president of Microsoft, and former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, now the UN special envoy for climate action.
US journalist Hadley Gamble, who interviewed Beatrice at the Adipec conference, told The Mail: “There was a general feeling that Beatrice was an unofficial ambassador for the UK.
“Beatrice was quite literally in the inner circle at a gathering of global energy CEOs, top finance guys and policymakers.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
