Dressed in red, Catherine was seen sitting next to her husband in the carriage. Beatrice, 37, sat directly opposite the future Queen, with Edoardo in front of William. A resurfaced video appears to show the two couples experiencing friction in their relationship three years ago.
As Catherine turned to look at William, Beatrice looked out into the crowd, with no eye contact between them.
The “tense” exchange of the couples was then seen as they left the carriage, with Catherine stopping to look back at Beatrice before walking away to join William.
Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail: “They sit locked in poses of mutual tension here, with both pairs of hands clasped tightly in their laps, and their torsos hunched forward in a mirrored self-diminishing ritual that hints at low levels of inner confidence”.
She added that there was “no exchange of glances and the two women appear to ignore each other in the moment”.
Catherine was later seen interacting with Duchess Sophie, whom she is known to share a close bond with, whilst Beatrice quietly sat near the pair. This clip appears to have resurfaced after reports suggested that both Beatrice and her younger sister, Princess Eugenie, have been banned from this year’s Royal Ascot.
The ban comes amid the scandal surrounding the House of York and its ties with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
A source said they had spoken to a friend who works at Ascot and they said the princesses have been told they can’t attend this year. They told the Mail on Sunday: “Beatrice has taken it the hardest. She’s been completely blindsided by all of this.”
Speaking of Catherine’s relationship with Beatrice and Eugenie, HELLO!‘s royal editor Emily Nash shares that Catherine and William are currently trying to “distance themselves” from the Epstein scandal and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – and this includes his daughters.
She said: “Kate has been a central member of the royal family for 15 years now and knows them all well, but like William, she is very aware of public opinion and the risk that this scandal poses to the monarchy’s reputation. They will understandably want to distance themselves as much as possible from it.”