So far the start of 2026 hasn’t exactly been smooth-sailing for the Royal Family and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in a public office was a particular lowlight of the scandal-centric past few months. There has been renewed scrutiny on the entire family and this includes the former Prince’s daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice.
They are not accused of any wrongdoing, though the headlines concerning both their parents have put them firmly in the spotlight by association. They’re still Princesses and expert and author Robert Jobson believes King Charles is fighting their corner behind the scenes whilst some question if they should lose theirs too.
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Their uncle is known to be very close to them and Jobson has claimed, as per the Express, that he’s the “only one who actually cares”. The expert alleged that the Prince of Wales takes a pragmatic approach to The Firm that’s “unsentimental” by contrast.
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He added that the Princess of Wales “backs people who stay quiet and get on with things”. Princess Eugenie and Beatrice aren’t working royals like the Waleses and although Jobson states that “nobody gives up a title voluntarily”, if you’re not undertaking royal duties “an HRH is a target not a shield” and it “ties them” to Andrew and the whole Epstein scandal.
“In the end the rule should be simple: you work for the Crown, you keep the title. You don’t, you don’t. Charles and William need to make that call,” he adds.
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When it was announced that Andrew would stop using his Duke of York title, The Telegraph reported that the King supposedly made it clear his nieces must be “protected” from the fall of their parents. He’s said to have insisted on this approach so his nieces could retain their titles, rather than officially stripping his brother’s Dukedom.
Throughout everything, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently and vehemently denied all allegations of wrongdoing. He later officially lost his Princely title “notwithstanding” this, and has now moved out of his Royal Lodge home and settled at his new Sandringham residence.
There have been numerous calls for him to now be removed from the royal line of succession too and he currently sits at 8th. Eugenie and Beatrice are the only grandchildren of the late Queen Elizabeth to have or use Princess titles whilst not being a working royal and although their uncle is supposedly fighting their corner, we’ve heard before how titles can be challenging.
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Princess Anne famously turned down the offer of titles for her children Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall and she doesn’t regret it at all.
“I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles,” she said a few years ago. “So I think that was probably the right thing to do.”
Her children seem content with the decision too, with Peter revealing in the Anne: The Princess Royal at 70 documentary that they were “always brought up on the understanding” that they’d have to go to work.
“I think it made us fight harder as well. To try and be as successful as we could be,” Zara said. “So I definitely, you know, we’re very grateful to not give us a title anyway.”
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Princess Eugenie
Princess Beatrice