EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry and Meghan 'divided' over Beatrice and Eugenie as new rift threatened
A royal expert says the Duke of Sussex will have “a lot of sympathy” for his cousins over the ongoing scandal involving their father – but claims Meghan may want to keep her distance
As the royal family continues to reel from one of its biggest scandals in decades, the Duke of Sussex is said to be “very concerned” about his cousins, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. The sisters, 37 and 35, have been dragged into the storm surrounding their parents’ links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year jail sentence for sex trafficking.
King Charles, 76, has begun a formal process to remove Prince Andrew’s titles, with the former duke, 65, now being known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, 66, has also lost her duchess title amid the latest allegations about their friendship with the disgraced financier – and the pair will be evicted from their home on the Windsor estate. The fallout has left their daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie – who will retain their titles – caught in the crossfire.
According to royal expert Duncan Larcombe, California-based Prince Harry, 41, will have huge sympathy for his cousins, who have always had a “massive soft spot” for him. “Harry has always been close to Beatrice and Eugenie,” says Duncan. “They didn’t see a massive amount of each other growing up because they didn’t live very close to each other, but they’d always get together for Christmas at Sandringham.”
But, adds Duncan, the Duchess of Sussex, 44, may feel differently about the matter. “With Meghan, there’s a divide there,” he explains. “The Jeffrey Epstein situation is hugely sensitive, especially in America, and of course Epstein, [disgraced film producer] Harvey Weinstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were photographed together at Beatrice’s 18th birthday.
“Meghan will be very aware of the sensitivities as she’s very media conscious. She won’t want to be seen to be too sympathetic towards them, so will keep her distance. I don’t think she could object to Harry privately supporting them, but they will be on very different pages.”
However, he thinks the Sussexes will be united on one issue. “Neither Harry nor Meghan will want to be seen to be associated with Andrew or Sarah Ferguson. From Meghan’s point of view it’s probably a commercial thing, from Harry’s point of view it’s probably more of an emotional thing.”
Last month Andrew had relinquished his right to use his Duke of York title, meaning Sarah Ferguson is no longer a duchess. He made the announcement days before the release of a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent accusers of Epstein and Maxwell and the girl in the now infamous photograph that triggered Andrew’s fall from grace.
Nobody’s Girl, which hit shelves six months after Virginia took her own life, included an allegation that she had three separate sexual encounters with Andrew after being introduced to him by Maxwell back in 2001.
In a statement about his Duke of York title, Andrew said “the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family ” and that he would therefore “no longer use” the title. He also stressed that he “vigorously” denied all the accusations against him.
Then last week, that was followed by a statement from Buckingham Palace that read, “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
“His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.”
Prince William had also been caught up in the controversy, with reports that he tried to use Beatrice and Eugenie’s own royal titles as leverage to get them to encourage their father to move out of Royal Lodge.
According to journalist Emily Maitlis – who conducted the Newsnight interview with Andrew in 2019, where he denied ever having met Virginia Giuffre – William “put a bit of pressure” on the two sisters in a bid to convince Andrew to leave.
Chatting on her News Agents podcast, Emily said, “They are at the moment allowed to be princesses, but there was a bit of pressure, we understand, being put on the princesses to say this is going to happen.”
Kensington Palace denied a meeting took place, and told the Daily Mirror it would be factually inaccurate to suggest William had the authority to remove anyone’s titles.
According to Duncan, Harry – who stepped down as a working royal in 2020 – is better able to relate to Beatrice and Eugenie, who find themselves caught between the working members of the royal family and their parents.
“He’ll have a lot of sympathy for Beatrice and Eugenie, because they are collateral damage in this horrendous unravelling of the House of York,” he says. “It’s not their fault that their mum and dad are in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons, but it puts them under incredible pressure.
“When Harry went to America, Beatrice was one of the few members of the royal family who kept in touch with him and supported him making his own decisions.
“So Harry will be very concerned about how they are and how they’re coping with what’s happening. The family seems to be imploding – very, very publicly – which Harry will know makes it particularly painful for those involved in the fallout.”
* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.