Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are set for a “deeply painful period” as both their parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson will likely “languish in public disgrace” following the latest bombshells, a royal commentator has claimed. It has not been an easy month for the family of York as week after week, new bombshells regarding Andrew and Fergie’s links to the convicted paedophile came into the spotlight.
Last Friday, the scandal culminated with Andrew announcing his decision to have his Dukedom and other titles and honours relinquished, so his personal dealings “would not distract” from the work of the King and the Royal Family. Despite the latest update, Beatrice and Eugenie’s position will not be affected and they will still remain princesses, which – much like their father – they have been entitled to since birth.
Last month, shortly after an email emerged in which Fergie was allegedly apologising to Jeffrey Epstein for publicly disowning him and calling him her “supreme friend”, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams claimed the revelations would deeply hurt the York princesses for one reason.
He told the Daily Mail: “This will be a deeply painful period for the sisters as their parents are both likely to languish in public disgrace and foreseeably so.
“The Yorks have always been a close-knit family. However, [Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie‘s] closeness to their parents is likely to mean that they are not involved, at least for a period, probably a considerable period, in new charitable projects.”
Meanwhile, royal author Katie Nicholl told the BBC last Saturday: “Their daughters are most unfortunate victims, they’ve had to suffer in silence and have been dignified in their silence.”
“It can’t be easy to see their parents dragged through something like this, and they remain very much loved nieces of the King. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them at Christmas occasions in the future. They’re largely untarnished.”
It comes as excerpts have been published of an upcoming posthumous memoir from Virginia Roberts Giufffre, who has alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew when she was 17.
Andrew stepped down from public life in 2019, but denied wrongdoing.
In a statement on Friday, he said that “with His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me.
“As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
Giuffre died by suicide in April. In the memoir she details alleged encounters with Prince Andrew, who she sued in 2021, claiming that they had sex when she was 17.
Andrew has always denied her claims and the two settled the lawsuit in 2022.