In what has been described as ‘a sign that Andrew’s daughters are back in the fold’, royal watchers were left stunned earlier this month when Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie made a very public entrance to the wedding of their cousin Peter Phillips to NHS nurse Harriet Sperling.
After months of absence from public life and following reports that the sisters have been requested not to join other senior royals at the Royal Ascot Races this year, not only did Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, join senior royals for the nuptials, but they were also pictured being affectionately greeted by Prince William.
At odds with the growing speculation that William is of the belief that Eugenie and Beatrice should also be stripped of their royal titles following the public scandal that continues to engulf their parents – Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson – the heir to the British throne was photographed kissing his cousin Beatrice on the cheek.
This public display of acceptance will undoubtedly have come as a huge relief to the sisters, who just weeks ago were cruelly described by a royal author as ‘a rot at the heart of the monarchy’.
However, we’re told that following reports that Beatrice and Eugenie had been speaking with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – receiving advice over their woes from a couple who have experienced their own very public royal rift – the Sussexes have been left shocked by the recent cosy pictures.
An insider says, ‘Seeing them quite literally kiss up to William after all the hours they’ve spent counselling them on how to handle this threat of eviction he’s been hanging over them was very disturbing for Harry and Meghan.
‘Clearly the girls are doing all they can to save their own skins and unfortunately that does make Meghan and Harry pretty uneasy. How can they trust them if they’re going to lay at William’s feet the moment that they get the chance?’
Of course, for Harry, the sisters’ display of affection towards William is bound to have been hurtful.
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Not only were Harry and Meghan, alongside Andrew and Sarah, not invited to Peter and Harriet’s wedding, but Harry had been famously incredibly close to Eugenie in particular growing up.
In fact, when he met Meghan in 2016, it was Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank who were one of the first to double date with the pair. And when the couple left the royal fold in 2020, Eugenie again showed her support by flying out to visit Harry and Meghan in Montecito.
Meanwhile, Harry has been candid over his rows with his ‘arch nemesis’ William, who in his 2023 memoir Spare, he accused of physically assaulting him in an argument over Meghan.
And we’re told that Harry and Meghan only believe it’s a matter of time before William ‘drops the axe’ on Beatrice and Eugenie, too.
‘They think they’re being foolish and frankly quite weak by showing him such blatant adoration. They aren’t suggesting they had to be rude, but they could have been a little less effusive,’ the source says.
‘What’s worse is they are now trying to defend William. Meghan and Harry both feel it’s obvious that William is being totally phoney and just biding his time until he drops the axe on them. William was nice to Andrew the week before he lost his titles. He’s a total two-faced schemer & the epitome of a wolf in sheep’s clothing in their view.’
Beatrice and Eugenie’s apparent insistence on staying in the good graces of William, 43, and Kate Middleton, 44, is likely to prompt a stern five-word warning from the Sussexes: ‘It’s us or the Waleses!’
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Yet with so much to lose, we’re told the sisters are ‘simply not prepared’ to side with the Sussexes if there’s any hope of retaining their positions in the royal fold.
The insider says, ‘Beatrice and Eugenie don’t see the situation in such black-and-white terms. They appreciate Harry and Meghan’s concern, and they do value their advice, but they’re simply not prepared to follow them into exile; they still have too much to lose.
‘Whatever frustrations they may have with the institution, they remain part of it, and they aren’t ashamed to admit they would like to keep it that way. Their feeling is that they’ve done nothing wrong and shouldn’t have to pay for the mistakes of other family members, and they are clinging to this hope, however delusional some people may think it is, that William will come around to seeing it that way as well.’
However, it has been widely reported that William has been at the forefront of striving towards a slimmed-down monarchy, with his efforts seemingly very much focused on utilising royal assets to combat social and ecological issues in the UK and across the globe.
He himself has revealed he wants to create a monarchy that his own heir, Prince George, 12, will be ‘proud of’, but his hopes also come amidst growing calls from the public to, if not abolish the monarchy, then to strip back the millions spent on pomp and ceremony – including palaces at peppercorn rent.
But the source says Beatrice and Eugenie are still holding onto the hope that, as their cousin, William will remember all of the happy times they shared growing up together and continue to maintain a ‘positive relationship’ with them.
The insider says, ‘What people have to remember is that William has always been a huge presence in their lives and they desperately want to believe there’s a future where they can maintain a positive relationship with him.
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‘Of course, there’s some nervousness too because they know how determined he is to clean house and protect the monarchy. Nobody is under any illusions about that. But from their perspective, there’s no advantage in picking a fight before one even exists. They’d much rather focus on building bridges and hoping for the best.’
It’s now been nine months since Andrew and Sarah were sensationally stripped of their royal titles and evicted from their family home of Royal Lodge in Windsor, following the allegations surrounding their friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. But still the furore surrounding the York family shows no signs of letting up.
And earlier this month, it was the turn of Beatrice and Eugenie to endure the eye of the storm when an audit by The National Audit Office (NAO) reported that King Charles covers the accommodation costs for non-working royals’ homes, meaning that the sisters live rent-free in their properties within the Royal Family’s London palaces.
As non-working royals, both women have their own high-flying careers, both are married to successful businessmen and maintain houses elsewhere. But the audit revealed how their grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, had paid the sisters’ rent before the charge was taken over by their uncle, King Charles.
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And following Andrew’s shocking arrest at his temporary home of Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate in February, his daughters also continue to face calls to speak out.
So much so, that after it was revealed in 2024 how Beatrice had played a pivotal role in orchestrating her disgraced father’s now infamous Newsnight interview in 2019 – which included his insistence that he’d attended a birthday party with her at Pizza Express on the same night his late accuser Virgina Giuffre claims she first had sex with him – there have even been cries from the public for the sisters to be stripped of their royal titles, despite their being no evidence that they have done anything wrong.
And four months after his arrest for suspicion of misconduct in public office, Andrew, 66, is now being investigated by the police over potential sexual offences.
As part of what has been described as a ‘significant investigation’, the Thames Valley Police are now reported to be examining events from 2002, when Andrew is alleged to have had an encounter with a woman at the Royal Ascot Races.
This allegation comes as a fresh bombshell after it was reported that Andrew’s misconduct in public office investigation has been broadened to consider ‘potential offences including sexual misconduct and corruption.’ Andrew continues to strenuously deny any wrongdoing.
So it’s little wonder that at a time they are under so much scrutiny, Beatrice and Eugenie may only further distance themselves from the Sussexes if Meghan and Harry continue to interpret all of their interactions with other members of the family at such a precarious time.
The insider says, ‘That’s where the disagreement with Harry and Meghan comes in because they tend to see every friendly interaction as proof that the girls are being naïve, whereas Beatrice and Eugenie just see it as common sense.
‘They were very grateful to be invited to the wedding and treated with courtesy, and they’re choosing to take that at face value. Whether that turns out to be wise remains to be seen.
For now, we’re told that the Princesses are likely to continue to adopt their grandmother’s motto of ‘Never Complain, Never Explain’ as they continue to keep their heads down publicly – despite alleged concerns from other members of the Firm, too.
‘There are certainly people who share Harry and Meghan’s suspicion that William is taking a one-problem-at-a-time approach and that his attention is focused elsewhere for now,’ the insider says.
‘But Beatrice and Eugenie have decided there’s no point living in fear of what might happen. Their attitude is that they have to keep showing up, keep doing the right thing and hope they aren’t ultimately judged by the actions of their parents.’
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