Now they've both wrapped up their studies, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are entering the world of work. And both the girls are following in the footsteps of their father Prince Andrew as ambassadors of British trade and industry.The sisters will begin their posts on Thursday, when they drive a Mini Cooper from Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to the British Embassy in the city to begin a year-long promotion of UK Industry. They will follow this up the next day with a trip to Hanover to promote British brands.
The Duke of York is footing the bill for the foreign trip, as it is not classed as an official royal visit. The girls were asked to travel to Germany by Downing Street to take part in the GREAT campaign which seeks to promoting Britain as one of the best places to visit, live, work, study, invest and do business. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "They were asked to do it by No. 10 and they were happy to do it. It’s all about raising awareness of the UK as a great place to visit or do business with."
Prince Andrew spent ten years travelling the world promoting British business as the United Kingdom's Special Trade Representative, a post he held from 2001 until July 2011. The post, which was previously held by the Queen's cousin, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, involved representing and promoting the UK at various trade fairs and conferences around the world. He stepped down from the role last July to focus more on evolving his role to concentrate on promoting British skills and exports.
He wrote in his annual review at the time: "As the evolution of my role continues apace…I have decided that the label I gave myself when I began this role of Special Representative has served its purpose and is no longer necessary to the work that I do today and, more importantly, in the future. "The new roles for Beatrice and Eugenie with give both girls a higher profile. Both have mainly concentrated on charity work until now – as well as both obtaining university degrees. Eugenie graduated from Newcastle University last summer with a 2:1 degree in English and history of art. "I am so proud," said the happy youngster after picking up her qualification in front of her proud dad and sister. "Being up in Newcastle is just amazing. I had so much fun." At the time, the Princess said of her work plans: "I'm a freshly finished student so my future plans are coming together as we speak." Now it seems the trade ambassador role was part of this. Beatrice was the first sibling to finish higher education, obtaining a 2:1 degree in History and History of Ideas from Goldsmith's, University of London.