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Princess Beatrice and Eugenie have not been accused of any wrongdoing but the future status of the Princesses will be a source of concern for King Charles, a royal commentator has claimed
The extraordinary arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will be a major source of worry for His Majesty the King and his advisers. But another challenging matter that the monarch will be contemplating is the future standing of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, according to a royal commentator.
When The Palace took the extreme measure of removing Prince Andrew, as he then was, of his HRH status and all of his various honorary titles, his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie retained their status as royal princesses.
There is no indication that either of them were implicated in any wrongdoing, and indeed Mountbatten-Windsor himself continues to vigorously deny the accusations that have been levelled against him.
In one public poll, over 50% of respondents said they believe the princesses were too tainted by their parents’ involvement with wealthy sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to ever again represent the Royal Family.
The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English shares that general public sentiment. Speaking on the Palace Confidential podcast she said: “Sadly for them, I think it’s becoming increasingly hard to separate themselves from their parents. I know something that’s the king has been keen to do because he doesn’t believe his nieces should pay for the sins of their father and their mother.”
Rebecca highlighted Beatrice and Eugenie’s references in the Epstein documents.
Notably, Beatrice was named in an email from her mother Sarah Ferguson, who suggested she helped guide Fergie on how to retreat from angering Epstein by labelling him a paedophile.
Even if ultimately shown to be baseless, Rebecca argued such disclosures are “going to weigh heavily on the King’s mind”. She added: “And it will probably have an effect on whether we see them in any public roles in the future.”
Epstein leveraged his enormous fortune to win favour with Mountbatten-Windsor and his former wife, Sarah Ferguson. In one of the recently-released emails, Epstein bragged that he had quietly bankrolled Sarah Ferguson’s lavish lifestyle for 15 years – starting in 1996 – the year of her divorce.
Ailsa Anderson, who served as the Queen’s Press Secretary between 2001 and 2013, also appeared on the programme and shared Rebecca’s view.
“Of course, they are still their royal highnesses, they both have the HRH title so they’ve got that indisputable link tot he royal family whether they do royal engagements or not,” she said.
“And we saw last year, they have been invited to family events, they’ve been to Sandringham, they’ve gone to the Royal Family Christmas lunch so they’re still front and centre. But I think there will be a rethink now.”
Earlier this year, reports emerged that Princess Eugenie, 35, had begun putting some public distance between herself and her scandal-plagued parents, whilst her elder sister had stood firmly by Ferguson and Mountbatten-Windsor’s sides.
Royal correspondent Rebecca English believes that 37-year-old Beatrice, in particular, had been a source of support for her parents, and as a result risks becoming too closely linked with them in the public consciousness: “We’ve seen suggestions that she has discussed the ongoing situation about statements being given out by her mother over Jeffrey Epstein with her directly.”
She went on to say: “So it could be that questions are asked of the princesses directly themselves. And I think that’s something that is going to weigh heavily on the King’s mind and will probably have an effect on whether we see them in any public roles in the future.”
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