Royals

Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and Zara Tindall Stand In for Kate Middleton at a Garden Party

The three royal cousins joined Prince William at Buckingham Palace to welcome a crowd that included representatives from his and Kate’s charities.
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Zara TindallYUI MOK/Getty Images.

With Kate Middleton out of the spotlight after her cancer diagnosis, Prince William enlisted a little bit of help from his cousins during a recent Buckingham Palace garden party. On Tuesday, the Prince of Wales was joined by Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and Zara Tindall at a palace garden party that brought together guests from around the UK, including representatives from charities that count Kate and William as patrons.

Princess BeatriceFrom Getty Images.

The royal cousins, who were joined by Zara’s brother Peter Phillips and her husband Mike Tindall, wore coordinating outfits. Beatrice wore a pink dress by Beulah London with a white headband, Eugenie wore a white dress by Ulla Johnson and a pink headpiece, while Zara wore a white dress with pink buttons by Laura Green London and a pink hat by AB.LINO.

Princess EugenieFrom Getty Images.

During the party William spoke to guests, including Squadron Leader Chrissie Lacey, who is serving at Royal Air Force Coningsby, a base in Lincolnshire. In conversation with Lacey, he mentioned that his son Prince George would enjoy visiting Connigsby because he is a “potential pilot in the making,” according to Hello!

Beatrice, Eugenie, and Zara joined William at the party, but according to Hello! they have no plans to be further involved with royal duties. As non-working members of the family, they have their own private jobs but occasionally appear at events such as garden parties as representatives of the larger royal family.

Though Kate hasn’t been making public appearances or working a full royal schedule, she is keeping track of her charity projects as they proceed. On Tuesday, her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood released a new report, “Prioritising Early Childhood for a Happier, Healthier Society,” and a palace spokesperson said she had gotten a chance to see it.

Prince WilliamYUI MOK/Getty Images.

"The work of The Prince and Princess’ projects is ‘always on,’ and that has been no different for the Centre over the past five months with a great deal of progress being made under [Guy, the center’s director]’s leadership,” the spokesperson told People. “However, early childhood is a huge priority for the Princess and so she has been kept fully updated throughout the development of the taskforce’s work, and she has seen the report.”