There's a key reason why Princess Beatrice's children are eligible for titles, but Princess Eugenie's are not

The royal family has had a difficult start to the year, with both King Charles and the Princess of Wales forced to take a temporary step back from public life amid their respective health conditions.

In their absence, wider members of the Mountbatten-Windsors have stepped up in their place, with Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie front and centre.

Yes, the Princesses of York have proven themselves to be invaluable over the past few months, with King Charles reportedly recognising them as "a real asset". And from their recent Buckingham Palace garden party appearances to their family lives behind Palace doors, the York sisters have been making headline news.

This week, it was their children that got the world talking, as news emerged that Princess Beatrice's three-year-old daughter Sienna was eligible for a title, whereas Princess Eugenie's sons, August, 3, and Ernest, 1, were not.

However, it has been revealed that Sienna's title is unrelated to the British royal family, and comes instead from her father's Italian aristocratic heritage.

Yes, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's lineage reportedly entitles Sienna to be a countess in the future, in a report from the Mirror.

"Edoardo is the only male descendent taking the family into the next generation," Mapelli Mozzi's father, Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi, reportedly shared with the publication. "He is a count, his wife will be a countess automatically and any of their children will be counts or nobile donna."

The interest around the York sisters has got so great, that there have been calls for Beatrice and Eugenie to be promoted to working royal status.

Princess Beatrice, 35, and Princess Eugenie, 34, are both non-working royal family members within the current "slimmed down" monarchy structure, with Beatrice working as Afiniti's Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, and Princess Eugenie working as a director for art gallery, Hauser & Wirth.

Royal experts have explained however that promotions within the fold are sadly "out of the question", with royal family members unable to work part time.

"The unfortunate truth is that none of them will be asked to support the working royals on a more permanent basis, however badly they are needed," explained royal expert Rebecca English, via the Daily Mail. "It is full time or nothing. The occasional garden party aside, more substantial roles for William's cousins are out of the question - for now, at least."

We will still be seeing more of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie in the coming weeks, with the sisters expected to be "adding support where they can" over the busy calendar of summer events.

We will continue to update this story.