“They are quite close to their father; they seem to be quite protective towards him,” a source told ‘Hello!’

(Left) Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie at the Ellie Goulding X SERVED private party at Royal Albert Hall in London on April 11, 2024; (Right) Prince Andrew at the Easter Mattins Service at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on March 31, 2024.Credit : Dave Benett/Getty; Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are reportedly paying more frequent visits to their father, Prince Andrew, and taking their kids in tow.

On Nov. 25,Hello!reported that the Duke of York’s daughters have been “taking turns” spending weekends with him — and bringing along their children. King Charles’ younger brother, 64, no longer holds a working royal role after stepping back in 2019 amid controversy, but continues to live at Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle.

“Hello! understands Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have been taking turns to spend weekends with their father, taking their children along to boost his spirits,” the outlet reported.

According to Hello!, a source said, “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 quite protective towards him.”

(Third row, from left) Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Eugenie, Jack Brooksbank and Prince Harry at the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey on May 6, 2023.

YUI MOK/POOL/AFP via Getty

Andrew is known to go horseback riding like the royal family’s late matriarch, Queen Elizabeth, and Hello! said he is helping teach Beatrice’s daughter Sienna how to ride.

Prince Andrew shares his daughters Princess Beatrice, 36, and Princess Eugenie, 34, with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, and the family has expanded as Beatrice and Eugenie have started their own families in recent years.

Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi share daughter Sienna, 3, and Christopher Woolf, 8, Edo’s son from a previous relationship, and they’ll become a family of five next year when Beatrice and Edo’s new baby is born.

Buckingham Palace announced in October that Princess Beatrice is pregnant, with the child due “early in the new year.” Meanwhile, Princess Beatrice and her husband Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank are parents to two young sons, August, 3, and Ernest, 1.

Five years ago, in November 2019, Prince Andrew stepped back from his public duties following his bombshell Newsnight interview about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and allegations that he had sex with Virginia Roberts Giuffre when she was 17.

In January 2022, Queen Elizabeth stripped Andrew of his military titles and patronages amid Guiffre’s civil sexual assault lawsuit, which has since been settled. The Duke of York has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Though he no longer supports the crown through a working royal role like his siblings Princess Anne and Prince Edward, Prince Andrew continues to attend major ceremonial events and family holiday church outings. He sat next to his daughters and their husbands at the May 2023 coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla, and most recently appeared at the Easter Mattins Service at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in March. There, he stepped out alongside the King and Queen, his ex-wife, the Duchess of York, Princess Anne, her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Prince Edward and Edward’s wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.

Prince Andrew (center) and Princess Anne (right) leave the Easter Mattins Service at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on March 31, 2024.Hollie Adams – WPA Pool/Getty

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are not working royals like their cousin Prince William, though the royal sisters each have charitable patronages and attend events as royal representatives. On Nov. 12, King Charles’ charity The King’s Foundation revealed that Beatrice paid a visit to its Future Textiles exhibit at the Garrison Chapel in Chelsea, where she learned more about the work of the textile training program.

In May, Beatrice and Eugenie both stepped out to support a Buckingham Palace garden party hosted by Prince William, bringing the glam alongside their cousin Zara Tindall.

Both princesses balance royal obligations with private, full-time jobs, and their mother, the Duchess of York, recently told PEOPLE that she’s proud that the “value system of giving back has always stayed with them.”