Princess Beatrice is becoming 'increasingly crucial' to The Firm amid cancer battles faced by King Charles and Kate Middleton, says royal commentator

Princess Beatrice has been providing 'increasingly crucial backup' to the Royal Family, according to royal commentator and editor Kate Mansey.

Writing in the Times, which described the oldest daughter of Prince Andrew as the 'unlikely leading lady', Kate Mansey said that the 35-year-old is 'expected to support the King and senior family members more often in the coming months'.

The outlet noted that mother-of-one Beatrice (who also shares stepson Wolfie, eight, with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40) is not expected to undertake official duties or receive any payment for doing so.  

It comes as King Charles, 74, is slowly returning to royal duties amid his battle with cancer.

Meanwhile, Kate Middleton has stepped away from public-facing work as she receives treatment for the disease, and her husband Prince William, 41, is expected to be less available for appearances as he supports his wife and children at this time.

Princess Beatrice (pictured) attends a Buckingham Palace garden party hosted by her cousin Prince William earlier this week

The non-working royal (pictured, right) reads to pupils at West Thornton Primary School in Croydon as part of Oscar's Book Club in association with Amazon Reading Volunteers on May 23

On Thursday, Beatrice (along with her sister Princess Eugenie, 34) was snapped as she read to pupils at West Thornton Primary School in Croydon as part of Oscar's Book Club in association with Amazon Reading Volunteers.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, she attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace, hosted by her cousin Prince William.

Her Princess Eugenie and cousin Zara Tindall, 43 were also in attendance, alongside Zara's husband Mike Tindall, 45.

The Times cites a palace source as saying: 'It was very much that the Prince of Wales wanted to invite his cousins along because [he knew it would be fun to see all of the young royals there.'

Further unofficial appearances are likely to include Royal Ascot, which Beatrice is expected to attend with her uncle, the King. 

Earlier this month, Beatrice made a rare appearance on live television, prompting some to speculate that she was 'gently pushing for more official duties from King Charles'. 

Beatrice, 35, popped up on ITV's This Morning on May 7 to reveal that her mother Sarah Ferguson is 'all clear' of skin cancer following a 'bumpy health scare last year'.

She was filmed while standing on top of the Empire State Building in New York for an event in partnership with the charity Outward Bound.

While Beatrice (pictured while volunteering at at West Thornton Primary School in Croydon as part of Oscar's Book Club) is expected to support The Firm, is not thought that she will undertake official royal duties, or receive any payment for doing so

The Princess, who has been a trustee of the young people's charity since 2019, wants to continue the work of her late grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh, who, she told the programme, was a strong supporter of the cause.  

She also told ITV's This Morning that both she and her sister Princess Eugenie are 'so proud' of [their mother] and have 'modelled their own health considerations on that'.

'She's been through so much,' she added. 'And her sense of purpose and resilience really keeps me going,' she added.

'Really now she's sort of coming into her own. We're just reminded when any parent or individual has a health scenario - just really get the checks that you need to get and as early as you possibly can.

'We're really lucky in the UK to make sure you can get those checks best you can and hopefully we can be there to support each other when anyone goes through a health scare.'

The This Morning team sent their best wishes to Beatrice following the Royal Family's bout of health issues this year - with King Charles III and Kate Middleton also opening up about cancer diagnoses, to which the Princess said: 'There's nothing more important than family.

Earlier this month, Prince Beatrice (pictured) made a live television appearance on This Morning, appearing while doing charity work in New York 

Following the TV spot, biographer and royal commentator Phil Dampier told MailOnline that her appearance on Britain's top morning TV show is not a coincidence at a time when the King and the Princess of Wales are battling cancer.

He said: 'I get the impression Beatrice and Eugenie are stepping up their charity work, and dropping subtle hints to the King that they would be willing to take on some royal duties if asked.

'The King recently took over some 300 patronages from his mother and father, but it’s a big workload, especially as he’s battling cancer'.

Beatrice's appearance while working with charity Outward Bound in New York (pictured) prompted one royal expert to speculate that she and sister Eugenie are 'dropping subtle hints to the King that they would be willing to take on some royal duties if asked'

He added: 'Done carefully with Palace approval, I think it could be arranged so that they [Beatrice and Eugenie] take on some non-controversial roles with worthy causes like hospitals, schools and even the military'.

He continued: 'I think Bea and Eugenie could do some minor roles, but the problem is it’s difficult to be half in and half out of the royal firm, as Harry and Meghan have discovered'.

Mr Dampier said that while their parents the Duke and Duchess of York have been accused of 'cashing in on their royal status', their children are keeping their heads down.

He then added that the late Queen's affection for their mother may help. 

Mr Dampier said: 'Beatrice and her sister Eugenie are always very happy to talk about their mother to whom they are very close.

'They call themselves the tripod as they are inseparable and always support each other through thick and thin.

'The late Queen had a soft spot for Fergie despite her faults, and always said : “The one thing you can say about her is that she’s a good mother'.

Speaking about her work with Outward Bound, Beatrice also said: 'I am here to kick off an amazing challenge which is called The Big Rappel. So I work very closely with an amazing organisation in the UK called the Outward Bound Trust.

'I've been involved with the organisation for a few years now and this amazing challenge is a phenomenal collaboration between Outward Bound Trust, Outward Bound International and Outward Bound New York.'

She said the charity is 'really there to think about what young people need in life'. 

Royal expert Phil Dampier said 'done carefully', it could be possibly for the York sisters to 'take on some non-controversial roles with worthy causes like hospitals, schools and even the military' (pictured: Princess Beatrice in New York earlier this month)

Her grandfather, Prince Philip, was involved with the non-profit in the 1950s.

Beatrice also opened up about her love for New York, where she had the opportunity to live for a couple of years. 

'New York for me when I was figuring out my life and what I wanted to do, New York gave me a place to have a job and just get on with it.

'So New York has always sort of had a special place for me and for mum as well, she came out here, started her charity... back in the day. So New York for us has always been a great city to spend some time in.'

She also said that her 'little ones' are 'phenomenally about coming to travel' but 'hasn't yet braved the international flight' with her daughter, who is two and half years old.