Why Princess Eugenie's Latest Post Could Be Her Clearest Break From Andrew Yet
Royal expert Tom Sykes believes Princess Eugenie's birthday post may reveal more than meets the eye amid her father's latest scandal.
Proud mom Princess Eugenie marked her son Ernest's third birthday on May 30 with a sweet Instagram photo carousel. The post showed her 'golden boy' enjoying everyday toddler moments— playing with a balloon, kicking a soccer ball, holding hands with his older brother, and sharing a kiss with his mum. While the tribute appeared innocuous at best, royal expert Tom Sykes suggests it serves a larger purpose: helping the Princess regain control of her own story and forge a family identity separate from her father's troubled legacy.
In an article on his Substack, The Royalist, Sykes claimed sources had previously told him that Eugenie and her sister, Beatrice, have prioritized 'protecting their own children' from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's scandals, with Eugenie taking greater steps to distance herself from the fallout. The birthday tribute, he argued, fit into that broader pattern. He explained, "With another baby on the way with her husband, Jack Brooksbank, which the Princess also announced on Instagram with a photo of her two sons holding an ultrasound scan and a caption saying they were 'very excited to have another sibling join the family,' Eugenie seems to be showing that the family she is creating is distinct from the one associated with her father."
Against that backdrop, the royal expert brought attention to Eugenie's current pregnancy, with the baby due in the summer, making him/her 15th in line to the British throne. With already so much scrutiny on the York family, many believe Eugenie and Beatrice's place, as non-working royals, let alone their children's, in the line of succession was unfair. With that in mind, Sykes continued, "Her [Eugenie's] posts can be read as an effort to appear more relatable and human to the public, helping to ensure that any growing anger is not directed at her or her children, who had nothing to do with their grandfather's antics."
Interestingly, Sykes argued that, unlike Meghan Markle, who posts pictures of her children to spotlight her brand, Eugenie is not using her children commercially, which would result in a different public reaction. He stressed, "It may be that her [Eugenie's] new Instagram post is nothing more than a mother sharing a moment of affection with her son, with no wider PR intent behind it. Or it could be read as an attempt to stay visible in her own way…" Either way, as the Andrew-Epstein saga rages on, Eugenie and Beatrice stay united on one important issue: focus on their family and carve a legacy distinct from that of their father's.
