Four weeks have elapsed since Outward Bound promised to reveal a new position for Princess Beatrice, yet the outdoor education charity has made no such announcement.
The 37-year-old royal left her trustee position at the organisation in September after serving for six years.
Shelly Phillips, who heads marketing and communications at Outward Bound, stated last month that Beatrice’s work was “greatly valued” and assured that details of a “new role” would emerge “in due course”.
The continued silence has prompted speculation about whether the charity intends to maintain its connections with Beatrice and her family.
Princess Beatrice’s future with charity remains unclear despite promise of new role
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Her parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, have been engulfed in scandal over their emerging links with the late convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
Beatrice joined the board of trustees in 2019, mere months after her father, Prince Andrew’s disastrous BBC Newsnight appearance, where he attempted to justify his relationship with Epstein.
The prince subsequently retreated from numerous charitable positions, including his role at Outward Bound, where he had served as patron for three years and led the trustee board since 1999.
Before Andrew, the patronage belonged to Prince Philip, who championed the charity for 65 years until his death.
The organisation uses outdoor challenges to build young people’s confidence and leadership abilities, drawing inspiration from educator Kurt Hahn’s principles that influenced Philip’s education at Gordonstoun.
This deep-rooted royal connection makes the current uncertainty surrounding Beatrice’s future involvement particularly notable.
Beatrice’s departure coincided with revelations about her mother, Fergie, losing connections with eight charitable organisations.
This followed the publication of correspondence from 2011 in which Sarah wrote what was described as an “obsequious” message to Epstein.
The email emerged just two years after the financier had completed his prison sentence for sexual offences involving minors.
These disclosures about Fergie’s communications with the convicted sex offender preceded her daughter’s exit from the Outward Bound board by a matter of days.
The close timing of these events has drawn attention to the broader implications for charitable organisations maintaining relationships with Andrew and Sarah’s daughters.
The absence of any announcement regarding Beatrice’s promised new position has fuelled suggestions that Outward Bound may be reconsidering its relationship with them.
Richard Eden, who first reported Beatrice’s departure, wrote in the Mail that “it is hard to avoid the suspicion that Outward Bound might no longer want to be linked to a family so closely associated with a sex offender”.
The charity has declined to provide any timeline for announcing Beatrice’s supposed new role.
