Princess Eugenie has been spotted out and about in London for the first time since it was announced her parents’ – Andrew and Fergie – titles would be formally stripped
Princess Eugenie has kept her royal title amid recent scandals engulfing her family, but she is barely managing to hide ‘signs of hurt’, according to an expert.
Eugenie and her sister Princess Beatrice are known to be incredibly close to their parents, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Sarah Ferguson – so the former couple’s newly reduced status and unceremonious eviction from their long-term home is likely to have caused major disruption to the whole family.
Serious allegations have swirled around Andrew for many years. From befriending an alleged Chinese spy and making himself a “national security risk”, to a long-term friendship with two convicted sex offenders – Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. But none have contributed to his fall from grace as much as the allegations levied at him by Epstein victum Virginia Giuffre that he sexually assaulted her three times when she was a teenager, which he categorically denies.
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With a blistering statement from Buckingham Palace announcing that Andrew was formally losing his royal titles, honours and styles, and has been struck from the official roll of the peerage – the world was eager to see if Eugenie and Beatrice would hang on to theirs. The sisters remain princesses, but with their father giving up his lease on the palatial Royal Lodge, his property near Windsor Castle that had become a major point of contention in the ever-increasing public outcry, the sisters will never inherit the 75-year lease to the property that Andrew held.
Eugenie and Beatrice have kept something of low profile amid the ongoing controversy, but Eugenie was spotted breaking cover in West London this week with her husband, Jack Brooksbank – where an expert claimed she showed signs of barely concealed “hurt” as she attempted to put on a brave face, showing her personal “resilience”.
Body language and communications expert Judi James explained that in her view, as the Princess got snapped by photographers with her husband and friends, “There seems to be a group mood of collective hilarity here, conducted and led by Eugenie in what looks like an act of resilience.
“As they step away from the kerb, Eugenie’s lips are sucked inward in a gesture of tension and even upset, while Jack’s brow is furrowed and puckered in what appears to be deep concern.
“But as they walk towards the camera, there is a sudden adoption of a more jovial look as Eugenie waves her arms about in a very animated display, and the entire group adopt smiles ranging from jolly amusement to nose-wrinkled giggles.
“Eugenie seems to have a determined stride here, and one arm reaches out as though ushering the group out of the traffic. In one pose, she’s flung both arms out, palms-up in a gesture that hints at a smiling version of exasperation.”
It comes as 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 her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten Windsor 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.”
