Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s on-going rift with Royal Family may have been dominating the headlines since their departure in 2020, but they’ve had some stiff competition when it comes to which member of The Firm has caused the greatest scandal.
Now, as it was revealed last fortnight that both Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have been stripped of their royal titles, the Sussexes have found themselves pipped to the post by the biggest ever reputational catastrophe in royal history.
But, much like the fallout from Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, their Netflix docu-series and Harry’s memoir, Spare, the reverberations of the fall of the house of York have been felt far and wide.
Most notably, the burden has been heavy for the former Duke and Duchess’ daughters, Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35, who have now faced calls from the public for them to be stripped of their own royal titles after their parents were dragged into the investigation into convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes.
Now a source tells Closer how Eugenie, who was seen hugging her sister in London on the day the statement via Buckingham Palace was made, is now looking to the future as she contemplates moving away from London with her husband Jack Brooksbank and their two sons – August, four, and two-year-old Earnest.
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We’re told, ‘With everything going on with her parents and the way they’ve suddenly been cut loose, she’s feeling very vulnerable. She’s not on the chopping block yet, and she does by no means want to turn her back on London or the royals, but she also feels like she ought to start preparing. She can’t put her eggs all in one basket.
‘Plus, it’s very uncomfortable for her in London at the moment when everything with Andrew is in the front of nearly everyone’s minds.’
And as she starts to navigate what could be the start of a new chapter in her life, we’re told that Harry, 41, and Meghan, 44 – who have carved a new life for themselves in the States – are urging Eugenie to ditch the heavy cloud hanging over her in London and join them in sunny Montecito.
‘They want her to break out of the royal bubble and have invited her to come spend more time in America with them. Even if she just wants a break to come and relax, they’ve told her they would both love it,’ the insider says.
‘Harry has always had such a soft spot for Eugenie, she’s like a little sister to him and he’s very protective. And he too, has been feeling homesick, so it would do him a world of good to see his cousin.
‘He and Meghan are very fond of Jack as well so they’re genuinely looking forward to having them come. There’s no date yet but they’ve all agreed to make a trip to Californian happen, it’s just a matter of when.’
Harry and Eugenie have always shared a close and deep bond, having grown up together within the bubble of the Royal Family and holidaying together, as well as spending their Christmases at Sandringham with their late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Eugenie’s mum Sarah was also a very close friend of Harry and his brother, Prince William’s late mum, Princess Diana.
Both Eugenie and Jack also played an integral part in keeping the first few months of Harry and Meghan’s romance a secret when they attended a Halloween party together back in 2016.
The couple are also the only royals to have visited the Sussexes in their new home, in 2022, with Harry and Eugenie being spotted enjoying the Super Bowl together.
Now, while we were previously told that Harry believes his disgraced uncle’s ‘stripping down’ was the right decision, the source says he feels every sympathy for his cousin and that he and Meghan have made a promise to support her in any way they can.
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The insider says. ‘He’s determined to make sure she comes through this horrible crisis without too many scars. This whole situation is obviously complicated because he has absolutely no sympathy for his uncle and he doesn’t pretend to, but that doesn’t mean Eugenie should suffer.
‘Harry had such a great time when Eugenie came out to see them in California, but it’s been nearly four years, so it’s high time she came back for another visit. Selfishly he’d love her to relocate. Having her and Jack move into the neighbourhood would make Harry so happy, he misses them.
‘But at the very least he’s telling Eugenie to get out of town so things can calm down.’
And after pursuing her own career in the arts at London’s Hauser and Wirth Gallery, and having recently launched her anti-slavery collective, the source says Meghan and Harry have assured Eugenie that her skills would be transferable should she look to make a more permanent move.
It was reported back in July that the Sussexes would be willing to ‘pay big’ to have Eugenie on board, and with the on-going storm engulfing her family, the source says a transatlantic lifestyle is becoming more and more viable.
‘It’s not totally out of the question, because Jack actually works for a big American property developer [Mike Meldman] so there’s certainly some possibility for him to put in for a move from Portugal to California,’ the insider says.
‘They have both said they could absolutely make a place for her, either with Harry and The Invictus Games or Meghan and her brand. She’s also heavily involved in the anti-slavery charity she co-founded and that work can be done in America just as well as London.’
Now the source says that as winter descends upon the UK, Meghan and Harry already have the wheels in motion to tempt Eugenie and Jack to fly over – a visit, the source says, that will launch their full-scale sales pitch for a sun-soaked life stateside.
Our insider says, ‘At this stage Harry and Meghan are working on getting her and Jack over for a visit and once they’re face to face he’s going to launch into a hard sell for them to make the move permanently. They both say life is too short to stay stuck in a toxic environment and they feel like Eugenie and Jack could really thrive if they take the leap over to America.
‘If they do it will go down like a lead balloon with William who will no doubt see it as them siding with Harry. But that’s not the motivation for Harry, he genuinely wants them in his world, but of course it will be satisfying if he can get a ‘win’ over this brother.’
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