An expert has claimed that Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are both struggling after the sisters were spotted in London for the first time since Andrew and Sarah lost their titles
Beatrice and Eugenie have spent weeks cruelly caught up in a whirlwind of scandal of their parents’ making – and now they’ve shown just how much they are relying on each other for support.
The two sisters have broken cover for the first time since Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Sarah Ferguson were unceremoniously stripped of their royal titles. The two sisters – who have retained the title of ‘princess’ – were spotted in an affluent London neighbourhood on Thursday, clinging together in a tight hug.
Despite their father being cut out of royal life, it is understood that Beatrice and Eugenie will still welcome to join King Charles at Sandringham for the royal’s annual Christmas celebrations, and other major royal events. However, watching their parents consumed in controversy – and getting dragged into it themselves – can’t have been easy.
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Body language and communications expert Judi James has told The Mirror that when the sisters were spotted hugging in London this week, it showed the true depth of their bond, and the difficulty of the moment they have found themselves in, with some of their gestures indicating true “grief” and “resignation”.
“As two sides of the famous royal ‘Tripod’ cling together in the street here, it looks pretty obvious that Eugenie and Beatrice are obtaining some much-needed support and comfort from each other while family relationships implode around them,” Judi explained. “It’s Beatrice talking in an animated style here, and the way she ends by raising her brows and holding her left hand out palm-up in a shrug suggests an air of helplessness tinged with resignation.
“Walking side by side, it seems to be Beatrice again showing a higher level of what looks like tension and anxiety. Her arms are folded in a self-protective barrier as she walks, and her facial expression seems to be a taunt ‘skull’ shape with her lips pulled back and her teeth bared in a rictus.”
When the sisters went their separate ways, there was “vulnerability” in their body language, the expert claimed. “Their parting hug makes them look vulnerable and in need of comfort here. Eugenie clings with both arms round her sister’s waist while Beatrice gently strokes Eugenie’s back while their chins rest on each other’s shoulders in a ritual that would normally suggest distress or even grief.”
Eugenie and Beatrice recently found themselves inadvertedly dragged into their parents’ scandal when shocking claims surfaced that their mother Sarah Ferguson took them to visit the late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein after he left prison.
When Epstein was released from jail in summer 2009, Beatrice and Eugenie would have been 20 and 19 years old, respectively. The email in question was allegedly sent by Epstein to his lawyer, Paul Tweed, in 2011 – one month after Sarah gave a March 2011 interview apologising for her ties to Epstein and claiming she would have “nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again”
Epstein allegedly told his lawyers in the now-leaked messages that Sarah “should affirmatively state that she was misquoted”. The email reportedly said: “[Sarah] took apartments in New York. She was the first to celebrate my release with her two daughters in tow. She visited me with [a] policeman sitting at my front desk. She has asked for help with her charities.” A source close to Sarah has insisted that neither she nor her daughters had any recollection of such a visit.
Meanwhile, Andrew has now been all-but exiled from royal life after scrutiny over his links to Epstein reached a fever pitch. The former prince vehemtly denies all allegations against him. He had an “iron-clad” 75-year lease on Royal Lodge, and because of the nature of the agreement made with the Crown Estate back in 2003 for the home, there was no way the King could force him out.
The King’s errant younger brother expected to be able to pass his lease on to Eugenie and Beatrice after his death, but after public furore reached new heights with the revelation he had paid little rent on the property since living there – Andrew was finally persuaded to leave. The Royal Family’s headache is far from over, however, as Andrew has now been summoned by US congress to explain his connections to Epstein.
The ex-duke will reportedly be moving to a home in Sandringham, a 20,000-acre estate with 150 properties. It is understood that his ex-wife Sarah, who he had lived with for many years at Royal Lodge, will not be joining him in the King’s private Norfolk estate, instead forced to figure things out for herself.
Eugenie and Beatrice’s defiant show of public unity comes as their mum Sarah is said to be spending her last days at Royal Lodge ‘hiding’ away in a secret bar ‘pouring her heart out’ to worried staff. And sources say the one thing that’s left her reeling in the scandal engulfing the family is the wellbeing of her beloved daughters.
Struggling Sarah is dealing with the upheaval of her life by holing up in a bar named The Doghouse, located behind the pair’s home in Windsor Great Park. “They have been heard having some pretty intense conversations about what is going on,” a source told The Sun. “Sarah, in particular, is panicking about what comes next and she is not in a good place. She fears being caught in the crosshairs and is worried about herself and her and Andrew’s daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie.”
They added: “The one thing that brings them together is their daughters Beatrice and Eugenie – as they both want to shield them as much as possible from what is going on.” The sisters are said to be deeply worried about their mum Sarah.
