Insider Reveals How Beatrice & Eugenie Are Handling New Claims Against Dad Andrew: 'They're Keeping...'
When you’re born into royalty, scandal comes with the territory, but the release of Andrew Lownie's book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, is a whole other nightmare for sisters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. The latest wave of revelations about their father, the Duke of York, has cut far too close to home. Sources say the sisters are 'utterly mortified' and are keeping a careful distance from him as the fallout begins.
This week was five straight days of bombshells from the historian, whose new book, releasing on August 14th, was serialised in the Daily Mail. The extracts paint a searing portrait of Prince Andrew’s private life — from his close friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and murky financial dealings with foreign billionaires, to claims of 'bullying' Palace staff, a crude sense of humor, and a brazen sex lie. In light of the same, a source close to the family told the Daily Mail, “They’re keeping a distance from [their] dad. The extent to which the relationship can recover will depend on what further revelations, if any, emerge.”
While Beatrice, who turned 37 recently, and Eugenie, 35, knew the book was coming, the intensity of the global furore has been “worse than they feared.” Chiming in on the same, Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, and Ferguson’s biographer, notes that Beatrice — long considered a 'Daddy’s girl' — will be struggling most. “She has always been close to her father,” Seward says. “They will both be finding this very difficult – it’s a horrid time. But I’m not surprised they haven’t come out and said anything in his defence. For his girls to show their solidarity publicly wouldn’t benefit them in any way.” It’s a strategy the York sisters and their mother have stuck to since 2015, when Andrew’s links to Epstein first made headlines, silence, or at least the regal version of it.
Beatrice and Eugenie are busy with high-profile careers, Eugenie in art, Beatrice in tech, alongside charitable work and raising young children. Friends say this silence also masks years of personal hurt. “He was away a lot – either as a serving naval officer or on royal duties – so they rarely saw him,” a source says of Andrew’s parenting, as per the Mail. His approach to grandparenting is described as similarly 'hands off.' “He gets hardly any practice,” the source adds.
These days, visits to Royal Lodge, the £30 million Windsor estate where the sisters grew up, are infrequent. “They spend most of their time raising families, pursuing careers, and trying to be normal. Andrew isn't completely ostracised, but arrangements to see Sarah usually take place elsewhere, and the girls seem keener that the King and other senior royals are part of their lives,” the source summed.