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Members Of The Royal Family Have Held Jobs Aside From Being, Well, Royalty

Two are former Olympians!
No, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge haven't decided to get into the construction business, they were just on a site tour.
Mark Cuthbert via Getty Images
No, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge haven't decided to get into the construction business, they were just on a site tour.

Very few of us land a cool job the first time around — even our second or third jobs might not challenge us the way we want to be. But members of the Royal Family have never had to deal with this reality.

While many of their main roles are about representing the Queen, some have branched off to find their own path or just to pursue their own passions.

From honey maker, to calligrapher, to John Deere ambassador, these members of the Royal Family have done a heck of a lot.

Princess Anne

Princess Anne at the 1976 Olympic Summer Games.
Getty Images via Getty Images
Princess Anne at the 1976 Olympic Summer Games.

Very few athletes ever reach a level where they are good enough to compete on the world stage, but Princess Anne is one of them. The Queen's only daughter has competed in the Olympics as an equestrian and is the first member of the Royal Family to take part in the Games.

Eventually, Anne's daughter, Zara Phillips, would follow in her mother's footsteps and compete in the same event.

Duchess of Cambridge

After graduating from the University of St Andrew's in Art History, Kate Middleton needed a job that would allow her the flexibility to plan her schedule around her boyfriend, Prince William. To fulfill that, Kate became an accessories buyer at the U.K. high-street chain store, Jigsaw.

In her current role, Kate represents the Queen at various functions, and works with charities as part of her mission with The Royal Foundation. Some of the causes she champions include children's mental health, addiction, and personal development for young people. She's a patron of the charities Place2Be and Action on Addiction.

Zara Phillips

Zara Phillips with her horse High Kingdom at the 2012 Olympics.
PA Images via Getty Images
Zara Phillips with her horse High Kingdom at the 2012 Olympics.

As mentioned above, Phillips competed in equestrian at the Olympics. Originally, she was supposed to compete at the 2004 Games and then again at the 2008 Games, but she had to withdraw from both when her horse, Toytown, sustained an injury.

She would eventually compete in the 2012 Olympics in front of a home crowd in London. Phillips has also designed a line of outdoor clothing for Musto, a jewelry line called the Zara Phillips Collection and is a brand ambassador for John Deere.

Prince Edward

Like most men in the Royal Family, Prince Edward first served with the Royal Navy. After he retired, Edward took a job as a production assistant at Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful theater company. During his time there he work on plays such "Cats" and "The Phantom of the Opera."

He also started a television production company, Ardent Productions, however some people accused him of using his royal title for gain. Things took a turn for the worse when his company was caught secretly filming Prince William when he was at university despite the strict no media rules. In 2009, the company was dissolved with only £40 (about $70) in assets.

Prince Andrew

For 10 years, Queen Elizabeth's second son played a vital role as the U.K.'s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. During this time he would travel the world promoting the U.K. at fairs and conferences.

However, during the Libyan Civil War in 2011, the Duke of York was found no longer suitable for the role due to the fact he was "not only a very close friend of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, but also ... a close friend of the convicted Libyan gun smuggler Tarek Kaituni," former Foreign Office minister Chris Bryant said at the time, reports BBC News.

Prince William

Prince William during his final shift working with the East Anglian Air Ambulance in 2017.
HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY via Getty Images
Prince William during his final shift working with the East Anglian Air Ambulance in 2017.

Queen Elizabeth never got much of a chance to lead a normal life as she became Queen at only 25 years old, so when Prince William asked permission to work as an air ambulance pilot his grandmother gave him her permission.

For two years, the second-in-line to the throne flew for the East Anglian Air Ambulance service after working for the Royal Air Force's Search and Rescue Force for five years. He called his role "exciting and challenging," and it ultimately helped form his passion for mental health issues after seeing the effects firsthand.

Duchess of Cornwall

The Duchess of Cornwall really loves her honey.
PA Archive/PA Images
The Duchess of Cornwall really loves her honey.

One day she will stand next to her husband, Prince Charles, when he becomes King. For now though, the Duchess of Cornwall can add honey maker to her list of jobs.

The Duchess of Cornwall Honey is sold at U.K. department store Fortnum and Mason with proceeds going to the Medical Detection Dogs charity. The honey comes straight from the beehives in her Wiltshire, U.K. garden.

Prince Charles

Prince Charles was troubled by the modern buildings being built stacked upon one another in the U.K., and has since become an advocate for restoring historic architecture.

That is why he started his very own town, Poundbury. Built on the land owned by his Duchy of Cornwall, Prince Charles is now more than 30 years into creating his town (population: 2,500) filled with traditional architecture.

Queen Elizabeth

Princess Elizabeth at the wheel of an army vehicle when she served during the Second World War in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
PA Archive/PA Images
Princess Elizabeth at the wheel of an army vehicle when she served during the Second World War in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

For most for us, the only role we have ever seen Queen Elizabeth in is that of Queen. However, when she was still Princess Elizabeth, she was made an honorary second subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945.

During her time with them she learned how to drive and trained as a mechanic fixing some of the vehicles during the Second World War. Five months later she was made an honorary junior commander.

Meghan Markle

She may not technically be a part of the Royal Family, but she will be in a few short months. Before finding success in acting Meghan was a calligrapher to help ends meet.

In a previous interview with Esquire, Markle revealed that she did the invitations for Robin Thicke and Paula Patton's wedding. In 2013, she gave Larry King a lesson in the art while on a press tour with her former "Suits" co-star, Patrick J. Adams.

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