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Prince William with Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice during the annual Trooping The Colour ceremony at Buckingham Palace on June 15, 2013 in London© Getty

Prince William's royal cousins have no plans to take on royal duties after surprise garden party outing - exclusive

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall mingled with guests at the palace

Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
May 22, 2024
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Royal watchers were delighted as the Prince of Wales was joined by four of his cousins as he hosted a garden party at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.

Prince William, 41, was supported by Peter Phillips, 46, Zara Tindall, 43, and her husband Mike, 45, as well as sisters, Princess Beatrice, 35, and Princess Eugenie, 34, as they mingled with guests in the rain.

But while many have called for the likes of Beatrice and Eugenie to become full-time working royals, HELLO! understands this is not the current plan for now.

HELLO!'s Royal Editor Emily Nash says: "Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and their cousins were at the Garden Party to support the Prince of Wales because the Princess is continuing her recovery, but they are not taking on official roles.

"They've attended royal engagements in the past, sometimes 'in attendance' with the late Queen, for example, so they might appear at other events over the summer as members of the King's family."

Beatrice and Eugenie have both carved out careers of their own, having both studied at university. Beatrice is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at US tech company, Afiniti, while Eugenie is a director at art gallery Hauser & Wirth in London.

Princess Beatrice in a vibrant pink dress holding umbrella© Getty
Beatrice and Eugenie have full-time jobs in the tech and art industries respectively

Meanwhile, Mike and Zara have had hugely successful sporting careers, with former rugby star Mike part of the 2003 World Cup winning squad.

The Princess Royal's daughter, Zara, has followed in her mother's footsteps with an equestrian career, winning a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics as part of Team GB's eventing team.

Zara Tindall channelling Mary Poppins under umbrella at Buckingham Palace Garden Party© Getty
Zara and Mike (far left) both have sporting careers

Peter is head of partner acquisition for the sports and entertainment rights agency CSM Sport & Entertainment. Before that, the father-of-two was a managing director at sports and entertainment agency, SEL UK.

Mum-of-three Zara has previously touched upon the benefits of her and brother Peter not being given royal titles from birth.

Speaking on Seven: Rob Burrow, The Total Sport Podcast last December, she said: "From my point of view, I was obviously very lucky that my mother didn't give us any titles so I really commend her on that. We were very lucky that we got to do it a bit our own way."

Peter Phillips at garden party© Getty
Peter has long worked in the sports and entertainment industries

Meanwhile, William's youngest cousins, Lady Louise Windsor, 20, and James, Earl of Wessex, 16, - the children of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh - were missing from the garden party.

Lady Louise is currently studying English at the University of St Andrews in Scotland while James is in the final year of his secondary education and will be in the middle of his GCSE exams. 

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