:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/princess-beatrice-princess-eugenie-prince-andrew-112524-f04c800ab0da4b0ab1f8429988ce5631.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "Royals Deliver Double Snub to Disgraced Andrew and His Children")
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have been told they won’t ride in a royal carriage this year at Ascot. But who made the decision?
Prince William scores two notable victories in the British Sunday newspapers.
According to The Mail on Sunday, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have been told they will not ride in the royal carriage procession at Royal Ascot in June, while The Sunday Times says that William has been lobbying for Andrew to be officially removed from the line of succession since last year.
As readers of The Royalist will know, William has long urged his father to cut the York family completely out of royal life and has despaired at his father’s half-measures on the matter. His anguish has increased as the Epstein files have revealed the depth of the former Prince Andrew’s and the wider York clan’s involvement with the scandal.
The Royal Ascot carriage parade, from which Andrew’s daughters have supposedly been banned, is one of the set pieces of the royal year, a highly visible marker of who is “in” and who is “out.” It has traditionally showcased the York family, with Andrew and his daughters very much part of the core line-up. To be excluded from that procession is a very public demotion.
Behind the scenes, this looks very much like a win for William. For years, he was infuriated by what he saw as his father’s ambivalent approach toward Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Now that the king has finally had his road-to-Damascus moment, William fears he is making the same mistake with their daughters.
And indeed, King Charles has consistently signaled that, whatever happens to Andrew, his children should not be punished for the sins of their father. That message was underlined just three months ago when, days after Andrew was formally stripped of his remaining titles and honors, Princess Beatrice was appointed Deputy Patron of the Outward Bound Trust, a charity closely associated with the late Prince Philip.
Allies of William, however, believed the king should at least have waited to see what else might emerge from the vast cache of U.S. Department of Justice “Epstein files” before elevating Beatrice in this way. That caution now looks prescient.
The latest documents and emails released in January mention the York family repeatedly. They show, among other things, that Sarah Ferguson took her adult children, Beatrice and Eugenie, to visit Jeffrey Epstein in Miami less than a week after his release from prison in July 2009, with Epstein apparently paying thousands of dollars for their flights, and that she later described him in an email as “the brother I have always wished for.”
Further emails suggest Ferguson continued to lean on Epstein for money and advice even after his conviction, including asking him to upgrade flights so she and the “girls” could visit, and discussing her “Mothers’ Army” and other projects with him.
Separate correspondence shows Princess Beatrice involved in media-management discussions about how her mother’s relationship with Epstein should be framed, and references a possible 2015 trip in which “Princess Beatrice will be joining” an Epstein party in Mexico.
Although there is no suggestion she committed any criminal wrongdoing, the overall picture these documents paint is of a family far more deeply entwined with Epstein than previously believed.
At the same time, long-standing questions about the York sisters’ lifestyle and public role have re-emerged. More than a decade ago, as part of Charles’ drive for a “slimmed-down monarchy,” Beatrice and Eugenie lost their taxpayer-funded police protection and were told they were not working royals.
Reports at the time highlighted the high security costs associated with their frequent foreign trips and travel, and cemented the idea in some royal circles that the Yorks enjoyed the trappings of royal life without a clearly defined public role.
William has long been cool toward his York cousins.
One long-remembered flashpoint came when he did not invite their mother, Sarah Ferguson, to his wedding, a decision that left the girls deeply upset and convinced he was being mean.
In their eyes, they were among the first to be pushed out of the inner royal circle once Charles’ slimming-down agenda began to bite. That history helps explain why, when Harry and Meghan left the royal family, Beatrice and Eugenie instinctively aligned themselves with the Sussexes.
That alignment was made very visible when Harry and Meghan allowed Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, to move into Frogmore Cottage when they moved to America. The five-bedroom Windsor home had been renovated at great expense before Megxit, and the Sussexes were subsequently obliged to surrender it back to the Crown.
Eugenie was later photographed visiting the Sussexes in California, including a high-profile outing to the Super Bowl after the couple had settled in Montecito.
For many at the palace, these were clear signals that the York sisters saw themselves in Harry and Meghan’s camp—fellow exiles who felt they had been sidelined by an uncaring institution.
Now, that calculation looks unwise.
Harry and Meghan are heavily invested in portraying themselves as morally and socially above the behavior of the royal institution.
In the wake of the Epstein files, no one seeking that kind of high moral ground wants even a second-hand association with anyone whose family is so directly entangled in the scandal. Meghan’s own name has been dragged into the online frenzy due to an occasional mention in the files, but reputable coverage has stressed that claims linking her to Epstein are misleading and unsupported by evidence.
By contrast, the material on Andrew and Ferguson and the princesses is extensive, and the princesses now have to live with the fact that their parents’ decisions are being raked over in painful detail.
Sources say that last year, in what some saw as a last-chance for the princesses, William and Catherine privately proposed that Beatrice and Eugenie submit their finances to an ethical forensic accountant, so that an independent audit could clear them of any suspicion about how they funded their lavish lifestyles as teenagers and young women. That offer was rejected. The sisters chose to rely on the defense that they had done nothing wrong and that, as private individuals with jobs, their money was their own business.
Publicly, the picture at Christmas this year seemed far more positive when Beatrice and Eugenie made a surprise appearance on the Sandringham church walk, joining King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales for the traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene.
Coverage at the time framed their presence – with Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank walking prominently near the front of the procession – as a notable show of unity and alignment with the wider royal family.
But it was notable that William did not speak publicly with either of them. Today’s Royal Ascot carriage decision makes clear that William does not want the York sisters anywhere near the top tier of royal representation.
The second victory for William today comes via the London Sunday Times, which reports that last year he pushed for Andrew to be stripped of his place in the line of succession altogether.
Andrew remains, absurdly, eighth in line to the throne despite having been forced out of public life and arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over alleged sharing of confidential trade information linked to Epstein.
The government has since confirmed that it is actively considering legal changes to remove Andrew from the succession, a step that would require an act of Parliament and parallel moves in up to 14 Commonwealth realms where the king is head of state. Australia and New Zealand have already indicated they would back such a move.
While constitutional experts warn that the process could be complex and time-consuming, at Westminster, there is growing cross-party pressure for Andrew to be removed, with polls showing overwhelming public support for his exclusion.
The Sunday Times reports that William was pushing for this last year, which is significant not just for what it says about his private position but also because it is being briefed into the public domain at this particular moment.
Taken together, today’s developments—the Ascot carriage bombshell and the confirmation that William has been lobbying to remove Andrew from the succession—fit neatly into a broader pattern.
Over recent months, The Royalist has been reporting that when William becomes king he is planning a bonfire of titles, using royal letters patent to strip non-working royals, including Andrew and the Sussexes, of their HRH styles and princely rank.
The aim is a much tighter, more controlled monarchy in which only a small inner circle carries the burden—and the risk—of representing the crown.
Against that backdrop, barring Beatrice and Eugenie from the Royal Ascot carriage procession looks less like a one-off snub and more like an early skirmish in a larger campaign.
On the evidence of today, William’s hard line—and not his father’s softer, more forgiving approach—is now shaping their royal future.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie Want to ‘Hold On to Their Royal Status’ amid Andrew’s Arrest, Family Friend Says
“It’s their identity,” a family friend tells PEOPLE of Beatrice and Eugenie
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NEED TO KNOW
- Questions remain about Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s future in the royal fold following the arrest of their father, the former Prince Andrew
- The sisters’ royal status has shaped their careers and financial opportunities, despite them not being senior working members of the family
- “Their economic prospects depended on remaining within the royal family,” royal author Andrew Lownie tells PEOPLE
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have an uncertain future following the arrest of their father, the former Prince Andrew, and renewed scrutiny of their mother, Sarah Ferguson.
While PEOPLE understood that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s titles and positions were wholly unaffected when their father’s titles were removed in the fall of 2025, there are questions about where they now fit in the royal fold. A family friend tells PEOPLE in this week’s exclusive cover story, “They want to hold on to their royal status. It’s their identity.”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Feb. 19, as authorities investigate whether he shared confidential information with the late Jeffrey Epstein while serving as trade envoy for the U.K. Meanwhile, the latest batch of Epstein files shed new light on Ferguson’s efforts to maintain contact with the convicted sex offender after his 2009 prison release amid her financial struggles.
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Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, grew up in the spotlight with a childhood lavish even by royal standards: exotic holidays, private jets, yacht trips, extravagant birthday parties and years spent moving comfortably among the ultra-wealthy. They lived in palace apartments, stayed in Alpine chalets and were raised with the assumption that royal status endured.
Andrew reinforced that belief as a father, having pushed for his daughters to be styled as “Her Royal Highness” and receive princess titles at birth. When Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank in October 2018, Andrew insisted on a full-blown royal wedding at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, complete with security and public spectacle, despite mounting questions about his own standing inside the family.
According to sources, the Duke of York bristled at comparisons to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s wedding that spring, determined that his younger daughter’s ceremony not be seen as lesser.
“She’s a granddaughter of the Queen—a princess of the blood,” says Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York. “He believed she should get everything.”
Early criticism that the sisters worked too little and vacationed too much was often dismissed as unfair. Both Beatrice and Eugenie attended university and pursued professional careers, though their royal status inevitably shaped the opportunities available to them. They maintain royal residences at Kensington Palace and St. James’s Palace despite not holding working royal roles — an arrangement Andrew is said to have pressed for.
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Both princesses’ careers developed in relationship-driven private sectors, with Beatrice building a career in international tech partnerships and Eugenie working in the high-end art world.
Attention has now turned to their own financial dealings. The U.K. Charity Commission says it is assessing concerns raised about Eugenie’s nonprofit the Anti-Slavery Collective — whose missions include ending sexual exploitation — following media questions over spending and disclosures.
“Their economic prospects depended on remaining within the royal family,” Lownie says of Eugenie and Beatrice. “Their jobs in client relations are based on being princesses.”
Their proximity now carries repercussions, as the release of new Epstein-related material has sharpened questions about what Beatrice and Eugenie knew. Like their parents, the sisters are named in the files, including a reference to lunch with Epstein and their mother at his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion just days after his 2009 release from prison for solicitation of a minor.
Later emails allege that Epstein sought palace tours from the sisters for acquaintances, raising questions about how access was handled within the York family.
In the wake of the disclosures, the sisters spent Christmas Day in 2025 with their uncle King Charles rather than with their parents — a possible signal of where they see their next chapter.
Nevertheless, Lownie says, “They’re caught between a rock and a hard place over loyalty to their parents and their future.”
Ex-Prince Andrew Finds It ‘Deeply Unfair’ People Like King Charles Have ‘Turned on Him’ After Epstein-Related Arrest: ‘He’s Been Pampered’
Former Prince Andrew is experiencing a rude awakening after being stripped of his royal titles and arrested as a result of his past association with late child predator Jeffrey Epstein.
The disgraced son of Queen Elizabeth II is reportedly struggling with the fallout from his ties to the disgraced financier — and feels it is “deeply unfair” that members of the royal family, including King Charles III, have distanced themselves.
According to royal expert Andrew Lownie, the former Duke of York remains frustrated by the shift in public opinion and the reaction from those closest to him.
‘He Still Thinks He’s Anointed’
“He still thinks he’s anointed — that it’s deeply unfair people have turned on him,” Lownie said in a recent interview with People.
Andrew, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing related to Epstein, stepped back from royal duties in November 2019 following widespread backlash over his disastrous BBC NewsNight interview — in which he discussed his relationship with the late criminal and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Queen Elizabeth then stripped her son of his military affiliations and royal patronages in January 2022, less than one year before her death.
Ex-Prince Andrew Has Been ‘Pampered All the Way Through His Life’
In November 2025, King Charles formally removed his younger brother of his remaining royal titles, including His Royal Highness and prince, shortly after Andrew announced he’d no longer use his Duke of York title and other related honors.
In People‘s latest cover story, Lownie suggested Andrew’s perspective stems from a lifetime of privilege inside the royal system.
“He has been pampered all the way through his life, in this bubble,” the royal expert explained. “Status is everything to him — it’s his only sense of identity.”
Lownie claimed Andrew believed he and others within his circle could continue operating quietly without facing scrutiny.
“They thought they’d be able to operate like this under the radar,” he alleged, seemingly in reference to Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who has also faced scrutiny due to her ties to Epstein and Maxwell. “They’re clearly up to their necks in exploiting their royal status.”
Princess Beatrice and Eugenie Are ‘Caught Between a Rock and Hard Place’
Andrew and Ferguson’s past has reportedly complicated the futures of their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who remain public figures while navigating the controversy surrounding their mom and dad.
“They’re caught between a rock and a hard place over loyalty to their parents and their future,” Lownie said.
Andrew’s reputation was largely tarnished ever since Epstein’s 2019 arrest on federal s– trafficking charges. The financier later died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial in August of that same year.
Charles branded a ‘spectator to his own family’s crisis’
King Charles III appears powerless as the royal family endures one of its biggest scandals.
According to royal expert Andrew Morton, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor‘s arrest has forced King Charles III to surrender control over how The Firm is perceived, calling him a “spectator to his own family’s crisis” amid the scandal. “The King has done the only thing he can — which is to step back and allow the law to take its course,” he said during an appearance on Sky News via Daily Express.
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Despite King Charles III’s attempts to distance the family from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the Jeffrey Epstein connection may be too much to overcome. “The price of that high ground is that the ‘blood,’ the scandal, continues to seep into the public consciousness,” Andrew Morton said. “You cannot just mop that up with a press release when the police are still knocking on doors at Sandringham or Windsor.”
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With the authorities involved, King Charles III will have to deal with every possible as it’s made public. “This [the investigation] is something entirely different,” Andrew Morton said. “There is no cut-off point. Because this is now a police-led investigation, it will rumble on for years. Every Monday morning, the Palace will wake up to a new headline, a new revelation from the investigation, or a new legal hurdle.”
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The Firm will have to be careful navigating this hurdle, as it has the potential to take down the royal family. “This is a turning point. The institution is remarkably resilient — it has survived civil wars and abdications — but it will survive this by shrinking,” Andrew Morton said. “We are looking at a future that looks more like the Spanish or Dutch monarchies. The days of a sprawling royal family with dozens of minor royals living in grace-and-favor homes are over.”
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office — while he was serving as the U.K.’s trade envoy — for allegedly giving information to Jeffrey Epstein. “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office,” King Charles III said in a statement via People. “What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course. As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.”
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