BUSY MUM-TO-BE AND DUTIFUL DAUGHTER PRINCESS BEATRICE

TEAMS UP WITH SISTER PRINCESS EUGENIE TO SUPPORT THEIR FATHER IN HIS EXILE FROM ROYAL LIFE

- EMILY NASH

Five years after the fateful Newsnight interview that spelled the end of his public life, the Duke of York is taking solace in his grandchildren.

Prince Andrew, who largely spends his days at Royal Lodge, his 30-bedroom home on the Windsor Estate, has been seen driving three-yearold Sienna, his daughter Princess Beatrice’s child with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, through the park and helping her take the reins as she learns to ride.

It’s a tradition that royal children have followed over the decades – his mother, the then Princess Elizabeth, first sat on a pony at the same age.

But it also gives a rare insight into how the Duke is keeping himself occupied, with the support of his “loyal and protective” daughters. hello! understands that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have been taking turns to spend weekends with their father, taking their children along to boost his spirits.

A source tells us: “The girls take the grandchildren to visit him most weekends. They are spending far more time with him now than they have done in recent years.

“They are quite close to their father; they seem to be very protective towards him.”

Both are said to have hosted friends for shoots on the estate in recent weeks, following another tradition set by their grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, who would put on the gatherings for her grandchildren.

CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES

The Duke still plays golf and is often seen on horseback in the grounds of Windsor Castle. When his former wife Sarah, Duchess of York, is at home, they walk their five Norfolk terriers and two of the late Queen’s corgis in the 98 acres of land around Royal Lodge and in the gardens at Frogmore Cottage.