The royal family has always enjoyed the Christmas holiday at Sandringham, but this year is much different from prior years after the former Prince Andrew’s Jeffrey Epstein scandal exiled him for good.
That ongoing drama has reportedly left his and Sarah Ferguson’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, in a “tug-of-war” over royal loyalties, according to The Mail on Sunday. The siblings feel torn over King Charles III‘s holiday invite to the royal family’s annual Christmas celebrations and their obvious devotion to their father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and mom.
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Beatrice and Eugenie are reportedly handling the pressure very differently. Eugenie seems to be more nonchalant about the situation than her older sister.
“Eugenie was tempted to stay in Portugal with her family and husband, Jack Brooksbank. She is so settled there, far from all the drama,” a source told the media outlet.
Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie.
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images
Princess Beatrice, who has always taken her royal role seriously, reportedly feels like she “has to be in three places at once.” That means celebrating at her Cotwolds home with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Ferguson, a visit to her dad at Royal Lodge ahead of his eviction, and a trip to Sandringham to see the king.
“Unless she makes a decision to pick one side and one side only, she will spend a lot of time in the car,” the palace insider added. “Overall, it falls to the princesses to soothe family divisions. They are struggling with Christmas.”
According to People, Andrew and his ex-wife were given a firm deadline by King Charles to exit Royal Lodge. They have until January 31, 2026, to remove all of their belongings after years of cohabitation despite their 1996 divorce. A source claimed that “she’s looking for a place in Windsor” while Andrew is heading to the “ramshackle” Marsh Farm on his older brother’s Sandringham Estate, per The U.S. Sun.
Beatrice is reportedly leaning toward staying home at her Cotswolds estate this year to avoid picking a favorite. It’s another sign that the palace, after Queen Elizabeth’s passing in 2022, has fractured the royal family, and Christmas continues to look very different from the late monarch’s era.
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