For many years, King Charles was said to support the idea of a 'slimmed down' monarchy that would see fewer members of the House of Windsor officially represent the crown and receive public funding. The idea was to make the monarchy a less bloated, more cost-effective, and modern institution, but in recent years some critics - including Princess Anne - have pointed out a few drawbacks to the idea. Speaking to CBC - a Canadian news channel - back in 2023, Anne admitted that in her view a slimmed-down monarchy "doesn't sound like a good idea" and added that the idea was first floated "when there were a few more people around to make that seem like a justifiable comment.".

These days, however, the working members of the Royal Family are pretty short in number and have an average age of 69 years old. With Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan making a shock exit from the UK five years ago, two major players who would have been expected to help bear some of the burden of official duties were suddenly gone - and the health challenges that Princess Kate and King Charles have faced in the last year have highlighted to some experts that the monarchy may need to make some efforts to bolster up its numbers.

Royal expert and author Katie Nicholl, explained to The Sun's Royal Exclusive show that the Windsors desperately need a "plan B" to ensure they have enough players to undertake engagements, and that in her view, Princesses Beatrice, 36, and Eugenie, 34, - the daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson could play a crucial role. "We don't have Harry and Meghan over here, who would have been doing so much of the work. The Duke of York has been ostracised and stripped of his royal duties," the expert explained.

"We've got Princess Anne, who's about to turn 75 but still carrying out hundreds of engagements a year. We've got the Edinburghs. We've got the Waleses but you know, with the princess having gone through her own health journey, her workload has been reduced over the past year. "So there's got to be a plan B. We may have to look at something different.". The expert continued: "When you look at Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, they've been very much encouraged to go and live independent lives of the royal family, to earn their own living, not to be dependent on taxpayer-funded security, not to be a drain, I suppose, on the public purse.

"So it would be a step in a different direction. I think possibly it is being looked at. I mean, Princess Beatrice was there on Christmas Day, that was a sort of very visible presence for her. "They're sort of welcoming her back into the royal fold. I know that both Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are keen to do some royal work around their jobs and their home lives.". Princess Beatrice has recently given birth to her second daughter - Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi. The new addition to the Royal Family was born several weeks prematurely, but arrived safely on 21 January, weighing 4lb and 5oz.