Princess Beatrice wants to become a career woman and find a job rather than devote herself to carrying out royal duties.

The 23-year-old princess, who is fifth in line to the throne, is undertaking a series of work experience placements as she battles along with thousands of other university graduates to find a career, Buckingham Palace said today.

A staggering one in four of 21-year-olds who graduated last summer are still out of work, according to the Office for National Statistics - the worst figures since the 1980s.

Beatrice graduated from Goldsmiths College, London, last year with an upper second in history and history of ideas. She has been carrying out a programme of work experience placements to try out different careers, Buckingham Palace said today.

While you might expect that being the the elder daughter of Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York would open doors, some employers may be reluctant to take on the baggage and media interest that goes with employing a royal.

According to her friends she wants to work in the fashion industry or in fine arts, The Express reported, and is due to start a prominent work experience placement next week.

The Princess, who lives in a four-bedroom flat at St James’s Palace that was refurbished at taxpayers' expense and receives state-funded police protection, is said to be supported in her choice.

A source close to the family told the Mail Online: 'The Duke and Duchess of York are fully supportive of her decision, they are very much behind her.'

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said yesterday: 'Princess Beatrice is in the middle of several periods of work experience with the aim of securing employment in a field close to her heart.'

'These are her choices and she is fully supported by her parents. Like many thousands of her university contemporaries, she is fully committed to finding employment.'

Graduation Day: Eugenie, with her parents Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, pose with their daughter Beatrice, at Goldsmiths College last September

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said yesterday: 'Princess Beatrice is in the middle of several periods of work experience with the aim of securing employment in a field close to her heart.'

'These are her choices and she is fully supported by her parents. Like many thousands of her university contemporaries, she is fully committed to finding employment.'

As a royal, the Princess will still have to undertake a number of official engagements even when she has secured a full-time job. She has also thrown herself into charity work, campaigning for people who - like her- have dyslexia, and giving her support to Children in Crisis and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

She is also eager to lead a normal life, according to The Express, and has been dating boyfriend Dave Clark, 29, for five years.

Her father Prince Andrew previously appeared keen for his daughters to follow in his footsteps. Asked in 2008 if he wanted Beatrice and Eugenie, now 21, to take on royal duties, he replied: 'If that is the sort of thing they want to do, I see no reason why not. They would take some of the burden off me.'

Making an impression: Beatrice, pictured with her sister Eugenie, in the Philip Treacy creation she wore to William and Kate's wedding last year, which she later sold on eBay, raising ￡80,000 for charity