The B.E. Team transformed: Beatrice and Eugenie ditch their 'pretzel' hats and frumpy frocks as they get set for their burgeoning role as very public princesses
By ELIZABETH SANDERSON and KAREN KAY
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What a difference two years makes. At the Royal Wedding, Princess Beatrice’s pink ‘pretzel’ fascinator became the butt of jokes around the world.
But at the Serpentine Gallery Summer Party last week, the young Princess cut a very different figure, looking so chic in a royal blue L’ Wren Scott dress that she won a place on Vogue.com’s coveted best dressed list for the first time.
Her sister Eugenie is also suddenly turning heads despite some very public fashion disasters in the past.
Now...
Eugenie (left) at Royal Ascot on June 18, wearing a Jaeger dress; Beatrice, right at the Serpentine Gallery summer party on June 26, in a L'Wren Scott dress
And before...
Eugenie (in a Vivienne Westwood dress and Philip Treacy hat) and Beatrice (in a Treacy fascinator) at the Royal Wedding in 2011
Their new look is down to the ‘Mary Poppins’ of the style world, Sarah Hogan, who was brought in by the Duchess of York to be her daughters’ fashion mentor.
But the makeover is more than just cosmetic. It is being seen as a sign that the Princesses are finally stepping out from the shadows of the more senior Royals to be the palace’s new ‘BE team’.
The transformation in their roles has become more pronounced in the past ten days, when both girls carried out their first independent engagements as official representatives of the Queen.
On Friday June 21, Beatrice, 24, caught a train from King’s Cross to Wakefield to carry out three engagements, visiting a school, a university and a children’s hospice.
Now...
Eugenie (in H&M dress with coat by Austique, left) at the Easter Matins Church Service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on March 31; right, Beatrice wearing Jonathan Saunders on a visit to the British School in Berlin on January 17
... and then
Eugenie (in sequins) and Beatrice attend the premiere of The Young Victoria in 2009
STYLED LIKE A PRINCESS
WARDROBE: The princesses have discarded their old, fussy style in favour of cleaner, sharper lines by designers such as Valentino, Jonathan Saunders and L'Wren Scott.
HAIR: For everyday events, the girls style their own hair but for special occasions, a hairdresser visits their home at Royal Lodge at Windsor.
MAKE-UP: Both do their own make-up but had one professional lesson. For special occasions, such as the Serpentine party, they use make-up artist Hannah Brown from Bobbi Brown.
ACCESSORIES: No more pretzel hats and very few feathers. The girls like British milliners Sarah Cant and Robyn Coles, and their outfits are usually accompanied by a smart clutch bag from Jimmy Choo or Lorraine Schwartz.
SHOES: Like the Duchess of Cambridge, Beatrice and Eugenie are both fans of LK Bennett. Their other high street footwear favourites include Russell & Bromley and Kurt Geiger.
And last Tuesday, Beatrice and Eugenie hosted a lunch for the first Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering at London’s Guildhall, with guests including the inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and Cabinet Minister Oliver Letwin.
In preparation for their new roles, Buckingham Palace also organised a session with voice coach Anthony Gordon Lennox, who helped James Middleton deliver that pitch perfect reading at his sister Kate’s wedding to Prince William in April 2011.
At the Guildhall lunch, Eugenie, 23, who was diagnosed with curvature of the spine when she was 12, gave her first speech.
She had written it herself and surprised the audience with a heartfelt but calm and collected delivery.
‘Engineering has had a profound effect on my life,’ she began. ‘Because I would literally not be standing here without the engineering expertise that developed the titanium rods for scoliosis that are keeping me upright.’
A friend of the sisters told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The girls are trying to carve out their careers.
'They know they’ll have to work but they also want to be supportive of their father and grandmother.’
But the Princesses’ desire to share more of the Royal Family’s burden as the Queen reduces her long-haul travel has not pleased everyone.
Looking chic now...
Eugenie in Zara and YSL with Brand jeans at the Beulah London and Hennessy Gold Cup launch party at The Brompton Club last October; right, Beatrice in a bespoke coat from Hannah Coffin at a service of celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's Coronation at Westminster Abbey on June 4
The Prince of Wales has made no secret of his wish for a thriftier, streamlined Monarchy which will focus on him and Camilla, William, Kate and Harry. This would sideline Prince Andrew and his daughters.
One Royal source said: ‘The fact is the girls are the only Royal Princesses of their generation. To be a royal princess you must be the daughter of a royal duke.
Sarah Hogan, a fabulously discreet style mentor in her early 30s known as the 'Mary Poppins' of the fashion world
‘Everybody’s trying to work out what their relevance will be. The girls are very patriotic and have a great sense of duty. I think they are now considered a safe pair of hands, able to step in for their father or grandmother.’
Beatrice and Eugenie know that whatever their official role might be in the future, they will also have to be the first princesses to hold down jobs in the ‘real world’.
Beatrice works at a hedge fund in Mayfair and for six years has been dating Dave Clark, 30, who works on the Virgin Galactic space tourism project.
Eugenie has been dating Jack Brooksbank, 26, a waiter in Chelsea, for three years. She is about to take up a post at online auction house Paddle8 in New York. After her recent appearance in ITV documentary Our Queen, she has also had offers to make further programmes.
The friend said: ‘Eugenie is the naughty one, like most younger siblings. She’s a bit edgier, a bit more “street”, but they’re very close.
‘Bea’s very sweet and gentle with a very soft voice. She’s not meek, she’s got her opinions, but she’s very conscientious. Normally, Bea’s up early, does her training and then gets to her office before everyone else. She’s conscious that she is out a lot and has to take time off for things. For the Guildhall prizegiving she went in her lunch hour.’
Royal commitments are, by their very nature, time-consuming, and the two sides of life can come into conflict. Last week it was claimed that Bea had given up her job, although it is believed she will continue to work in finance.
Brian Hoey, Princess Anne’s official biographer, said: ‘They both seem very nice, very able, very willing. They could have used their connections shamelessly but they haven’t. Of course when Charles inherits, all bets are off. That’s why everyone’s praying the Queen has the same longevity genes as her mother.
‘The impression I get is that the Queen is incredibly fond of Beatrice and Eugenie.’
In truth, it’s not easy to shine in the style stakes in the era of the Duchess of Cambridge. The friend said: ‘Like any girls, they’ve had some mistakes but they genuinely love clothes. They choose their own clothes but Sarah [Hogan] helps source them.’
Anthony Gordon Lennox teaches controlled breathing techniques and has advised David and Samantha Cameron
Ms Hogan never reveals who she works with but a former client told The Mail on Sunday: ‘She’s recommended by word of mouth, there’s a network of girls she’s transformed.
‘Most stylists seem just to want to buy you more and more clothes, but Sarah gives you ownership over your look: her aim is to edit your existing wardrobe, then help you identify styles that suit you and your lifestyle.
'You become sartorially confident and independent. She’s more of a fashion mentor than a stylist.’
Ms Hogan does not disclose her fees, but given that she is on the speed dials of some of the best-dressed women in London and New York, her services will not come cheap.
Meanwhile, Beatrice and Eugenie do not accept any discounts, paying full price for all their outfits.
It is an expensive commitment and proof, if it were needed, of their wish to take on a more prominent role.
Royal historian Hugo Vickers said: ‘They’re very nice girls and should be encouraged.
'In the early days of her reign, the Queen would ask her elder relatives to represent her.
'Now it is time to ask the younger ones. What people don’t realise is that all the Royal Family have a great sense of purpose and Beatrice and Eugenie are no different in that.’
All they need now is the chance to fulfil it.
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