The Gist
Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice spent Christmas with the royal family despite the fact that their parents, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, were not invited.
According to a close family friend, their decision to do so was not at all surprising.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson likewise explained that “you don’t turn down the King’s invitation.”
It’s no secret that, following his long-awaited fall from grace, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson were not invited to the royal family’s annual Christmas gathering at Sandringham. Their daughters, however, were invited—and subsequently chose to attend. Apparently this show of allegiance by Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie wasn’t at all surprising, at least according to a friend of the family who spoke to People.
“They live and die by the monarchy, so this didn’t surprise me at all. And Andrew and Sarah would have 1,000 percent supported it,” the insider said, adding, “Sarah has always said her greatest gift to the monarchy was her girls.”
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Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice, and Edoardo Mozzi on Christmas morning at Sandringham.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson likewise told the publication that Beatrice and Eugenie “made the right decision” in spending Christmas with the royal family instead of their disgraced parents.
“It’s easy to say this is a snub, but they would say, ‘I’m a royal princess, I’m in line to the throne, I have been invited to attend the King’s Christmas celebrations and you don’t turn down the King’s invitation,'” he said. “If you have an invitation, you go. It’s not an invitation—it’s a command, really.”
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Sarah Ferguson with her daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice in 2016.
Eugenie and Beatrice have laid low in the wake of their father’s dethroning, which culminated in King Charles stripping him of all remaining titles and honors last November. Prince William meanwhile reportedly believes that the sisters “must not be punished for their father’s alleged sins.”
“William is not interested in reopening old wounds,” Jobson told Hello!. “His focus is forward, and forward includes the York sisters. A slimmed-down monarchy still needs depth. Beatrice and Eugenie bring steadiness, purpose, and no theatrics.”
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Prince William at the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent.
Read the original article on InStyle