Princess Beatrice was spotted holding court at a controversial business summit in Saudi Arabia as the fallout over her father – Andrew Windsor – reignited.
It emerged today the 37-year-old hosted an ‘afternoon tea’, billed as a gathering of women business leaders, in the five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel in the capital of Riyadh on October 27.
At the time, the former prince Andrew was mired in renewed scandal following the posthumous publication of Virginia Giuffre’s memoirs where she detailed claims that she was trafficked to have sex with him aged 17.
He had recently agreed to stop using his peerages and honours and Buckingham Palace was gearing up to strip him of all his titles.
Beatrice has since been given another patronage in an apparent effort by King Charles to show that she and her sister Eugenie are not to be sidelined over their father’s disgracing.
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The event was co-hosted by Canadian wellness entrepreneur Ruma Bose and the Lioness Collective, a US business consultancy.
Held in the hotel’s executive lounge, it was focused on ‘sharing insights and bold ideas for investing in women, wellness and the next generation of leaders’, MailOnline reported.
The gathering was part of the Future Investment Initiative (FII), an investment summit held annually over several days in Riyadh known as ‘Davos in the Desert’.
The gathering is run by Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund, the investment vehicle for an estimated €941 billion controlled by the kingdom, which has faced significant criticism over its human rights record.
It sees businesses and investors mingle with Saudi officials over £11 cappuccinos in efforts to secure deals with the fund.
Many global businesses including Google, Uber, and JP Morgan Chase pulled out of the event following the 2018 execution of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
Most have reinstated their ties with the FII, though a number of media organisations including CNN and the FT which previously sponsored its events have not.
As well Ms Giuffre’s memoirs, fresh details have continued to emerge about Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein over the years.
Last week, newly-published US court documents revealed Andrew emailed Epstein in 2010 saying it would be ‘good to catch up in person’ shortly after the late paedophile billionaire was released from prison for child sex offences.
Andrew, who strongly denies all wrongdoing, has been told he must move out of Royal Lodge, his taxpayer-funded Windsor mansion.
He will move to a property on the King’s Sandringham estate, paid for by his elder brother, though this may not happen until as late as next year.
Buckingham Palace has said the move will take place ‘as soon as possible and practicable’.
Royal insiders have suggested the delay is to avoid the embarrassment of Andrew being in Sandringham for the Royal Family’s Christmas gathering.
The only significant position he still holds is in the royal succession, which currently places him eighth in line to the throne.
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