The daughters of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson joined the Royal Family for their annual Christmas in Sandringham, with their display of family unity sending a clear signal to the disgraced Yorks
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie in Sandringham(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Amid the ongoing scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, and their connection to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, their daughters joined the Royal Family for their annual Christmas celebrations at Sandringham.
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were joined by their husbands as they walked to St Mary Magdalene Church on the Norfolk estate for the Christmas day church service. While Beatrice and Eugenie smiled alongside the Royal Family, their disgraced parents were nowhere to be seen. As revelations about Andrew and Fergie’s relationship to Epstein continued to emerge, the divorced couple were stripped of their titles, kicked out of the Royal Lodge and exiled from the Royal Family.
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Princess Beatrice attended the Christmas Morning Service(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
While Beatrice and Eugenie have not been implicated by their parents’ indiscretions, they have been keeping their distance from public outings since Andrew and Fergie were stripped of their royal titles. But according to body language expert Judi James, their appearance at the Royal Family’s Sandringham Christmas shows a new plan has formed within the Firm to keep Andrew’s scandals separate from their royal duties.
Judi told the Mirror : “There appeared to have been some behind the scenes planning from the Firm to help sisters Beatrice and Eugenie on this very important moment in terms of their public statement of intent as a close part of the royal family.
“With their parents banished, their sense of angst about divided loyalties must be intense. And with the public disapproval for their father being at a rising high, public appearances like this could naturally throw up feelings of tension.”
Princess Eugenie grins to crowds outside the church(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
Judi explained that by the royal sisters joining the Royal Family with smiling faces and positive demeanours, they issued a clear statement of unity in the face of the York’s continued scandals.
“The Firm themselves seemed to have planned an emphatic visual ‘statement’ of their own when it came to the King’s nieces,” Judi said. “Eugenie walked to church almost right behind Charles and the way her other uncle Edward was drafted in to walk beside her, smiling and chatting, suggested formal protection and signals of ongoing cohesion.”
The body language expert analysed how various members of the Royal Family were on hand to keep Beatrice and Eugenie in positive spirits to help ignore any potential internal anxieties about being seen in such a public way.
Eugenie walked behind King Charles into the church(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Judi said: “After the service, it was Mike Tindall on ‘smile’ duty, chatting and grinning to lighten the mood as the sisters were sadly thrown into the undeserved spotlight again, meaning both had ‘smile prompters’ to help them with their facial expressions.”
While both sisters seemed calm and collected, Judi noticed that there were some brief moments of hesitation during the walk to the Sandringham church, but they were on hand to keep each other in check, and simply enjoy Christmas with their family.
“Eugenie always looks the more confident sister and her wide, sustained smile looked, although very performative, like a message of intent in terms of resilience and cheerfulness,” she said. “Beatrice looked less assured, and there were moments the sisters seemed to be cuing each other in terms of where to stand and how to pose for the public and the cameras.
Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank(Image: PA)
“Both performed wide smiles although there were some self-comfort signals later to suggest the pressure was still felt, particularly when they stood waiting to walk past the fans again after the service when presumably they might have been more open to responses and comments.”
While Beatrice and Eugenie accompanied the Royal Family for their festive celebrations, their disgraced father was spotted leaving his Royal Lodge mansion alone, while Sarah Ferguson was not seen on Christmas day.
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