The ROYAL SISTER ACT

In what's been described as “the year of the York sisters”, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are winning hearts and showing they're ready for more prominent roles in the House of Windsor.

- PAOLA TOTARO

It was one of the hottest spring days on record in the UK when a small cluster of patients and hospital staff gathered at the gate of the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre in the ancient Wiltshire town of Salisbury.

Flower and garden beds had been carefully weeded; tea and sponge cake set out in the shade in preparation for a much-anticipated royal visit. The car arrived bang on time but without security or entourage – and when its occupants emerged, both apologised profusely before running to find a loo.

Princess Eugenie, 35, accompanied by her private secretary, Libby Horsley, had no interest in formalities (or curtsies) on this sunny, late May day. Dressed simply in summer florals and wearing flat shoes, the princess appeared intent solely on paying an informal, fuss-free visit to talk to patients and staff about Horatio’s Garden, a charity that designs and builds outdoor spaces for patients confined to long hospital stays.

The cause is one close to Princess Eugenie’s heart. At the age of 12, she underwent serious and painful surgery for scoliosis, a curvature of the spine. As a bride, in 2018, she chose a gown with a bare back to declare pride in her scar. And as patron of this charity, she is committed to seeing Horatio’s Garden’s mission – to reach every spinal injury unit in the UK - to fruition.

“I’m happy to be on that journey with them. It needs to happen,” she says, before walking the garden with Dr Olivia Chapple. The GP founded and named the charity after her son, Horatio, who conceived the idea as a teenager, but was tragically killed by a polar bear on a school expedition, aged just 17.