Princess Beatrice was once mistaken for tea girl at work

Princess Beatrice was mistaken for the tea girl when she started working at New York software company Afiniti. Picture: REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Princess Beatrice was mistaken for the tea girl when she started working at New York software company Afiniti. Picture: REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Published Aug 18, 2023

Share

Princess Beatrice was mistaken for the tea girl when she started working at New York software company Afiniti.

The 35-year-old royal is Vice President, Partnerships Strategy at Afiniti, a data and software company based in Washington, DC, but her mother, Sarah Ferguson revealed that when she first started working with the company, the head honchos had no idea who she was.

Speaking on her 'Tea Talks with the Duchess and Sarah' podcast, Ferguson explained: "When Beatrice was in New York. They [the board] had no idea, they'd all been talking around the boardroom saying they were looking forward to meeting Princess Beatrice.

"And the girl came in, they all say 'coffee and tea please, with sugar' so she goes off and pours them all coffee and tea.

"Then she comes back and they tell her how excited they are to meet Princess Beatrice - and of course she was pouring the coffee and tea.

"It always makes me laugh! It was very funny."

Ferguson has praised her daughters Beatrice - who has daughter Sienna and stepson Wolfie with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Eugenie, 33, who has sons August and Ernie with husband Jack Brooksbank - for being hard-working and polite.

And Ferguson, 63, who shares the girls with her ex-husband Prince Andrew, previously revealed one of the most important pieces of advice she had given them was not to make public appearances if they couldn't "get [their] game on".

She said: “I always say to my girls, when you’re out on the public stage, smile. If you don’t want to be polite, don’t go out on the public stage — because no one wants to see a grumpy princess.

“I think the most important thing is you've got to get your game on.”