The Gist
Amid continued fallout over their respective associations with Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson have not been invited to spend Christmas with the royal family at Sandringham.
Their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, though, have been invited to the festivities.
More details have emerged about how the sisters reportedly plan to spend the holiday.
There are two people who will decidedly not be spending Christmas with the royal family at Sandringham this year—Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, who have been continually embroiled in scandal over their respective associations with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Both Andrew and Ferguson surrendered their Duke and Duchess of York titles in October, and weeks later, King Charles stripped his younger brother of all of his royal titles and privileges.
As for this year’s Sandringham Christmas, “The family wants to put the negativity behind them,” a source told Us Weekly.
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Members of the royal family at Christmas at Sandringham in 2024
Though Andrew and Ferguson won’t be in attendance—with Andrew’s move to the Sandringham estate reportedly being delayed until after the new year to avoid any awkward run-ins—their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are still invited to the festivities. Us Weekly reported that the sisters are expected to attend the traditional Christmas morning church service with the royal family at St. Mary Magdalene Church, but that they’re then expected to spend the rest of Christmas Day “with their respective in-laws.”
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Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice in 2019.
Per Tatler, the King “has made it clear that he wants to put as much distance between himself and the disgraced Andrew as possible.” Andrew, in turn, will “spend one last Christmas at Royal Lodge before he is forced to move,” referring to the 30-bedroom mansion on the WIndsor estate that he has lived in since 2003.
As for Beatrice and Eugenie, The Telegraph reported that the sisters have not only been invited to Sandringham, but that Charles wishes that his nieces would be “protected” from Andrew’s continued fall from grace and that he holds Beatrice and Eugenie in “high affection.”
“If Beatrice and Eugenie want to spend Christmas with the rest of the royal family, I’m sure they’ll be welcomed,” a source told the outlet. “But if they want to spend it privately with their parents, everyone will understand. Christmas can be quite complicated for most families, and the royals are certainly no different.”
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Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice at Christmas at Sandringham in 2019
Royal biographer Katie Nicholl told The Mirror that Beatrice and Eugenie “are the most unfortunate victims—they’ve had to suffer in silence and have been dignified in their silence.”
“It can’t be easy to see their parents dragged through something like this, and they remain very much loved nieces of the King,” she added. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them at Christmas occasions in the future. They’re largely untarnished.”
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Princess Eugenie attends a Christmas Day church service with the royal family in 2016.
In fact, a new report from Vanity Fair suggests that the King is considering allowing the sisters to take on occasional royal duties. “It was something that was being looked at before recent events but, despite what has happened with Andrew, it’s not off the cards,” a royal source told the publication. “Whatever people might think of Andrew, the girls are kind, hardworking, and want to help if they can.”
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Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie on September 14, 2023
The King is reportedly “testing the water” to see how the public reacts to Beatrice and Eugenie, as “there have been talks for some time about using them if and when there is a need,” the insider said. “For their part, they have let it be known that they are more than willing to do public duties if and when they can to support the King.”
According to a source close to the sisters, the princesses “recognize there is a responsibility to support their uncle, and they want to support him.”
Read the original article on InStyle