The Royal Family might have looked happy and carefree on their choreographed Christmas Day walk, but apparently, the mood between Prince William and King Charles was extremely frosty. The reason? William allegedly didn’t want his cousins, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, to join the rest of the royals amid Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s many scandals.
According to Rob Shutter’s ShutterScoop, William and Charles are “at war” because William “strongly opposed” his dad’s decision to invite Beatrice and Eugenie on the walk, fearing it would “drag the monarchy into scandal.” However, King Charles “overruled him.”
HENRY NICHOLLS//Getty Images
HENRY NICHOLLS//Getty Images
“William said it was a disaster waiting to happen,” a source said. “He argued the timing was toxic and that it would hurt everyone involved – especially the sisters.”
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Meanwhile, another insider notes that “Charles doesn’t like being told what not to do. This quickly became about authority. He made the call even knowing William objected.”
The result is a bunch of holiday tension between Charles and William, and one source says “Charles actually has more trouble with William than Harry. Harry walked away. William stayed – and challenges him.”
As for Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, a source says the walk “wasn’t protection. It was exposure.”
Notably absent from the traditional Christmas Day walk was the former Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. After being stripped of their remaining titles and asked to leave Royal Lodge, they were reportedly uninvited from Christmas and, while there was speculation they might spend the day with their daughters, that clearly didn’t happen.
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Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm, She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.