It feels like Princess Beatrice has been at a crossroads for a few years now. In 2015, she basically had a “gap year” of endless vacations. Then she started a new job in New York, possibly to be closer to her then-boyfriend Dave Clark. Beatrice and Dave broke up late last year after she reportedly tried to pressure him into proposing and he was like “nope.” Around the same time, she either quit or was fired from her New York job. So what has Beatrice been up to in the past four or five months? It’s a mystery. She seems to have a new job but the whole thing sounds rather shady. The Daily Beast examined the whole situation here. Some highlights:
Beatrice’s new gig: A bizarre story appeared in the British press this week, announcing that Princess Beatrice, the elder daughter of Prince Andrew and Fergie, had landed a deal with a sexy tech start-up seeking to float on the New York stock exchange via her new business consultancy. Fun-loving Princess Beatrice, the report in the Telegraph rather breathlessly announced, was following “in the footsteps of her father the Duke of York by setting herself up as a business matchmaker and winning her first high-profile client in the shape of would-be stock market debutant Afiniti.”
But what is she really doing? One courtier told the Daily Beast they had “no idea” who Beatrice worked for, or in what role her business consultancy was partnering with Afiniti, an artificial intelligence company which makes software for call centers, counts Vodafone and Virgin among its customers, and is said to be exploring a $US2 billion listing in New York. The Duke of York’s office refused to clarify the issue any further to the Daily Beast other than to repeat an absurd stock response that Beatrice is “continuing to work in business.” Afiniti issued a response to the Daily Beast declining to comment on the validity of reports stating the Princess’s connection with the company.
She’s a “business matchmaker”? All that is known for certain is that Beatrice, an excellent networker with fabulous name-recognition, accompanied Afiniti’s founder, Zia Chishti, and his entourage to “meetings and parties” at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year.
It seems reasonable to speculate, in the absence of any information to the contrary, that Beatrice is acting as a brand ambassador for the company, representing it to investors. What else could a “business matchmaker” be? Beatrice reportedly set up her consultancy after leaving the New York investment firm Sandbridge Capital in June. According to reports her consultancy operates “under the auspices of Sandbridge Capital,” but, again, no-one is willing to provide any clarity, or even the name of the business, on the record.Should Beatrice drop her HRH? In comparison to her parents’ exploitation of their royal name for financial gain, it should be said that friends of Beatrice tell the Daily Beast she is “hardworking” and keen to make a success of her life in her own right. But fundamentally, anyone with an HRH title will find it hard to be taken seriously in business. There will always be tension between their public and private roles, and questions as to whether it is the title or the person who is being bought by any partner or employer….If Beatrice really wants to stand on her own two feet, she should officially drop her title once and for all. Such a move would win her enormous respect, and forever take the wind out of the sails of those who allege that, like her parents have done, she is seeking to make a quick buck and cash in on her royal status.
The Duke of York will never allow Beatrice and Eugenie to drop their HRHs because he’s actually trying to ensure that they have elevated positions in the royal family, and that their future husbands will get titles too. I actually don’t think Beatrice should have to choose between her royal life and her title versus a business career. But, that being said, I hoped that Beatrice would be less shady than her parents but it doesn’t feel like that’s the case. “Business matchmaker” is not a thing. I mean, it probably is a thing for wealthy, well-connected people with years of business acumen to lend out their services as fixers and dealmakers. But that’s not Beatrice. She’s an Arrested Development-esque “business model.”
Photos courtesy of WENN.
That thumbnail picture is fantastic!! She looks like a bug-eyed psycho!
For the rest – meh
I suppose party planning is the new family business
It’s terrifying!
What???? After reading so many good posts this morning, my brain can’t process. What is she supposedly doing? Help??!!!
Her dad used his connections to get her a nothing job that will keep her flush and partying in exchange for the founder being able to parade A Real Princess (TM) at parties.
^My cynical translation.
Ding, Ding, Ding….;And we have a winner!
Business Matchmaker is absolutely a thing. You don’t get investment into new businesses without their services. It doesn’t always mean the matching will work out positively, but the matchmaker takes commission if it does.
One of the most high profile such people is ironically one of Andrew’s ex-jump offs who matched Barclays bank with Middle Eastern money during the credit crunch which worked out very well for all parties. She keeps dining out on that particular success. And being Andrew’s jump off.
It’s sort of consulting position, right?
Yes, but in a more fluid way that involves alot of socialising and networking. Dave, Beatrice’s ex-BF, picked up investments for Virgin Galactic this way as do many people at a certain level of investment.
LAK that stood out to me – she’s doing what she likely already did with Dave, but now she’ll actually get credit for it. I’ve wondered how much of his success with Virgin Galactic was because of the connections Beatrice helped him make.
Well, you can absolutely get business investments into your new company without a “matchmaker” type person. It happens all the time if you have a legit business. I mean, it’s the job of venture capitalists to find these kinds of businesses to invest in and, let me tell you, prestigious angel and VC investors are not working with shady business matchmaker types. They study their target industries, look for new market entrants and approach them. Or vice versa, you are a new company and figure out who is an investor who works in your industry and you approach them.
But yeah, if you are struggling to attract investors or grasping at straws, you can be seduced into thinking you need the services of a go between to drum up business.
From what I’ve gathered over the decades, both her parents are pretty shady and not the sharpest tools in the shed. A person in Beatrice’s position could do some real good in the world, but it must be hard when the two most important people in her life are such poor examples.
Yes.
Except Beatrice is not a working royal. She is expected to get a job and earn a living.
Uggh I wish she would just go away. If she earns her own money, legitimately without hanging on the coat tails of the other royals then fair enough (although this will not happen). She takes after her mother. I am british, but do not agree with the monarchy. These little sub royals do my head in. Her father is just a crook.
Lol the bug eyed pictures of both her and Chloe Lattanzi…!
I mean, I get it. Beatrice’s biggest asset is her social connections. I imagine especially after reportedly helping Dave make connections over the years that she wanted to do this for herself. The question will be who she matches up, because that’s where the shadiness can come in.
I don’t think it was that crazy of her to want her boyfriend of a decade to propose to her. It’s kind of sad he bounced…
Small businesses/start ups are always looking for investors. So, it is quite possible she using her social circle to match venture capitalists with business owners. /Kanye shrug
This is why I take issue with Charles’ slimmed down monarchy. If you expect royals to have real professions (aka not “representing the royal family”) then there is a fundamental problem that their royal title presents in actually having a career and you can’t have it both ways. The Princessses York should not have to relinquish their title if Charles wants them to work.
It’s too bad she can’t just do princess-y stuff-it seems like that’s what her parents raised her to do. I think they all figured she’d be out cutting ribbons and giving speeches and marry well. But since Charles has put the kibosh on the second tier royals, she does need to figure it out. She seems like a sweet girl-I feel bad for her that her boyfriend dumped her (and is now serious about someone else) and she’s at loose ends.
I agree with you Happy Mom. I think she must have been very hurt over the break up. Ten years is a long time.
But she has lots of connections, and that will be good for business.
That’s on her parents, though. It’s been pretty clear for a while that Charles was going to streamline the monarchy, and it may not have been the most realistic assumption to think that the children of the second son were also going to be full time royals.
I hope she gains some career traction and that it turns out well for her, whatever the job is supposed to be.
So basically, Affiniti just paid Beatrice so they could get their business name dropped in publications. Just look at the pull quote in this article and the level of detail given about this business (their management, their customers, their market, etc). It was all clearly provided by the company’s marketing/PR people. That’s what they are paying her for..”free” or non traditional advertising.
ETA: note that some people in comments above are assuming her job is to legitimately introduce investors to her client. But this company Afiniti is supposedly looking into a $2 billion public offering on NYSE or Nasdaq. That is not the job of a twenty something socialite. That kind of company has a team of corporate lawyers and investment bankers, the latter of whom find the investors and market the stock. It’s a joke to think Beatrice would be doing this as a solo consultancy.
Hope they are familiar with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act and the views on dealing with “government officials”, which she could very well be deemed to be, or a ‘politically exposed person’ if nothing else.
I feel sorry for Beatrice in a way. If Charles had told her father of his plans when she was MUCH younger, they could have prepared the girls. But it seems the plan was only hatched when the girls were just finishing school or just after they finished. That’s not terribly fair to them. I think it’s a bit short sighted of Charles as now he has to rely on his own two boys to carry on. Charles needs to be realistic and realize that William is reluctant at best and outright defiant at worst. Harry can’t carry the whole load. Beatrice was lead to believe that she would lead the life of a royal and then when she was ready to do so, she was told “No thanks.” She still shows up to “help granny” at receptions and garden parties. The point being, she still shows up. When’s the last time William & Kate showed up without being forced?
I bet she could win a gold medal in a staring contest…… (shudder)
on the high she’s a convoluted business business strategist…
on the low a liaising account manager
on the mid a business relationship manager or on business dev team
all these jobs could have commission-type technicalities within them.
I don’t see what the big deal is? She already was dining celebrities with her ex, when he worked at virgin and uber during her so called vacations. She could have been making contacts as early as then. So, I think she may have been used to this type of position. Some people do get paid just have their involvement, image involved, or to name drop with a company. I don’t see why should she give up her title if she wants it, it’s part of her heritage. If I had her connections I would use it, it’s not like she is working royal or anything. I think it’s a good position that way she can have the leeway she needs for royal events and her charities. Not everyone is going to find fulfillment at a job/work place, most just have jobs because they need to pay bills. In her case she could live off her trust fund and twiddle her hands and not worry about money. She has inheritance from the Queen mum and from her parents divorce settlement, she must have more than enough by now if invested properly. If Bea thinks her main purpose is charity work, which is not a bad thing, It’s Ok in my book.
Speaking of her charities Princess Beatrice added another patronage to her list of Charities: Oscar’s book prize. http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/princess-beatrice-reveals-how-she-got-through-her-dyslexia-struggle-by-reading-childrens-stories-a3479891.html
Eugenie was seen at a reception with The Queen and at a charity event recently. The Yorks seem to know what they want in life.
I can’t imagine that this is something that will end entirely well without her landing in hot water. Beatrice has connections yes, and she’s likely been doing this already for years yes, but there’s a difference between profiting off of those connections as she’s doing now. I say this because I doubt that Beatrice would be as well-connected as she is without her title and position, which are two things that were bestowed on her, not things that she earned. Granted, I don’t know the specifics of this job, and I’m glad she’s taking the initiative to do something that she probably enjoys and is good at, but I’d really advise her to be careful regarding what she does with this as it has the potential to be seriously troublesome if she’s not careful with the businesses or the connections that she associates herself with. I imagine that she wants to drop the HRH, partially because it would stop some of the criticism she’s liable to face (that she’s profiting off her name, again something she hasn’t exactly earned), and I think that’s a good way to think. Maybe there’s a compromise she can strike between keeping her HRH for strictly royal related business, but drop it when it comes to her business dealings?
People with HRH don’t find it difficult in business. They find it lined with curtseying climbers, of course. Otherwise Beatrice wouldn’t have a job.