Andrew's Cunning Ploy in Using Beatrice & Eugenie to 'Keep an Eye' on Royals After Exile
Royal expert Ingrid Seward believes Andrew persuaded his daughters to attend the Sandringham Christmas walk, using them as his spies.
After Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was swiftly shown the door from royal life, he has lived in exile, reeling from the fallout of his controversial actions. His daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, however, remain in the good books of King Charles, even joining him for the annual Christmas walk at Sandringham. Analyzing their appearance, royal expert Ingrid Seward suggested that Mountbatten-Windsor may have used the occasion to his advantage, relying on his daughters as royal 'spies' to keep an eye on the family.
During an appearance on The Sun's Royal Exclusive show, royal experts Matt Wilkinson, Charlie Ray, and Seward shared their thoughts on Mountbatten-Windsor's embattled state. Wilkinson revealed that he was 'fascinated' when he saw Beatrice and Eugenie in Sandringham, contradicting earlier reports claiming otherwise. In response, Seward opined, "But I don't think Beatrice and Eugenie had a choice. Andrew said to them, You have to go. Because he wants to keep a foot in. A, he wants to know what's going on. B, he'd want to know what people were saying about him." Calling the Princesses their father's 'passports,' she added, "And they might have said, 'Oh, Papa, we want to be with you.' And he'd said, 'No, I want you to go there.'"
Chiming in, fellow expert Rae agreed, adding that Mountbatten-Windsor must have wanted to 'keep an eye' on what the royals were saying about him. He slammed, "He's not invited, so he's not at the table anymore. So one of the first things that would have happened when they got back would be Andrew would be on the phone saying, Right, who said what?" Meanwhile, Wilkinson argued that Beatrice and Eugenie's smiling and chummy photos with the King pretty much showed whose side they were on in the whole Andrew Epstein saga.
Beatrice and Eugenie's Christmas appearance, according to sources, was a strategic move by Charles to display family unity and happiness amid the ongoing scandal. Writing for The Daily Beast, royal editor Tom Sykes observed, "It was essentially a softening-up exercise for them to join Charles and William on the walk to church on Christmas Day." The expert was critical of the King's decision to include the York sisters, noting that he had resorted to the same tactic before, when Mountbatten-Windsor had faltered. He pointedly described it as the Windsors' worst 'instinct', that when faced with scandal, 'they close ranks.'
Unsurprisingly, Charles's decision to include Beatrice and Eugenie in Sandringham came as a shock to many. Earlier reports suggested that both sisters were facing a major Christmas dilemma: whether to join the royal family for the holidays or spend Christmas with their embattled parents at Royal Lodge. As a smart solution to counter the alleged quandary, reports claimed that Beatrice was going abroad on a ski holiday with her husband and kids to avoid making the hard decision. But, showcasing their loyalty to the Firm, the sisters ultimately chose duty over family.
