British royals with normal jobs: from Princess Beatrice the sales assistant to Princess Eugenie’s art gallery gig and Prince William’s modest air ambulance pilot’s paycheck

Apr 24 , 2021

Contrary to popular belief, Peter Phillips, princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and Prince Harry have all put in thousands of hours in regular jobs, just like the rest of us. Photos (L-R): AFP, AFP and AP

Queen Elizabeth’s eldest grandchild Peter Phillips, who walked between William and Harry at Prince Philip’s funeral, worked for Jaguar, RBS and Williams Racing

Zara Tindall is gearing up for the Tokyo Olympics as director of Cheltenham Racecourse, and Princess Eugenie currently has a senior role at US company Afiniti

Being born royal doesn’t necessarily mean a life spent wafting around palaces and banqueting with dignitaries; many of the world’s royals in fact have regular jobs, or have had periods in their lives where they have worked full-time. In fact many of Queen Elizabeth’s grandchildren have or are still working nine to five.

Peter Phillips

Queen Elizabeth’s eldest grandchild, Peter Phillips – yes, the one who walked between his cousins William and Harry during their grandfather Prince Philip’s recent funeral – began his career in motorsports, a passion of his, when he landed a job working for Jaguar as corporate hospitality manager. He later worked with the Williams Racing Formula One team as a sponsorships account manager, and even worked in Hong Kong for a few years from 2008 for the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Most recently he has been working for SEL UK, a boutique sports management company. But is he also in need of a few bob? Last January, right before the pandemic struck, Phillips could be found on mainland Chinese television promoting milk as a “British royal family member”. Fun fact – he does not in fact have a royal title because his parents, Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, wanted their children to lead normal lives.

Prince Harry