Beatrice and Eugenie issue ‘weighing heavily on King’s mind’ | Royal | News

The unprecedented arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will be a source of much concern for His Majesty the King and his advisers. But another tricky issue that the monarch will be pondering is the future status of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, a royal commentator believes.

When The Palace took the drastic step of stripping Prince Andrew, as he then was, of his HRH status and all of his various honorary titles, his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie remained royal princesses.

There is no suggestion that either of them were involved in any wrongdoing, and indeed Mountbatten-Windsor himself still firmly denies the accusations that have been made 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 agrees with that general public feeling. 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 noted Beatrice and Eugenie’s mentions in the Epstein files. In particular, Beatrice was mentioned in an email from her mother Sarah Ferguson, who claimed she helped advise Fergie on how to back track from upsetting Epstein by calling him a paedophile.

Even if ultimately proven to be unfounded, Rebecca claimed such revelations are “going to weigh heavily on the King’s mind”. She continued: “And it will probably have an effect on whether we see them in any public roles in the future.”

Epstein used his vast wealth to curry favour with Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. In one of the recently-published emails, Epstein boasted that he had secretly subidised Sarah Ferguson’s high-rolling lifestyle for 15 years – beginning in 1996 – the year of her divorce.

Ailsa Anderson, who held the position of the Queen’s Press Secretary between 2001 and 2013, was also on the show and agreed with Rebecca.

“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 sot they’re still front and centre. But I think there will be a rethink now.”

Earlier this year, it was reported that Princess Eugenie, 35, had begun to publicly distance herself from her scandal-hit parents, while her older sister had rallied to Ferguson and Mountbatten-Windsor’s sides.

Rebecca English believes that 37-year-old Beatrice, in particular, had been supporting her parents, and could therefore be too closely associated with them in the public mind: “We’ve seen suggestions that you she has has discussed the ongoing situation about statements being given out by her mother over Jeffrey Epstein with her directly,

She added: “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.”