It should be cause for celebration and in some quarters it was: Princess Eugenie’s announcement that she’s expecting her third child was immediately followed by a statement from her uncle, the King, saying how delighted he was with the news.
But the pregnancy has since sparked debate about the roles of Eugenie, her sister Princess Beatrice and their children in the royal family. It’s even led to suggestions that they should be removed from the line of succession because of the downfall of their parents, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, both 66, and the fact they’re not working royals. Other family members are considered far more deserving of a higher spot.
One of the people said to be keen on the sisters and their controversial father being given the push is Camilla. Sources allege the Queen, 78, also believes they should stop using their titles.
“She thinks all of the Yorks, including Beatrice, Eugenie and their children, should be excluded from the royal line,” says an insider.
“Her attitude is that they are all the stain on the monarchy.”
Royal line of succession shift sparks debate
Eugenie is currently 12th in the line of succession. Her new baby with husband Jack Brooksbank, 40, will be 15th behind their brothers August, five, and Ernest, two. This will push the King’s siblings Prince Edward, 62, and Princess Anne, 75, further down the list to 16th and 19th respectively, upsetting many royalists.
“Edward and Anne are two of the hardest-working family members, carrying out hundreds of engagements on behalf of the King every year,” points out a palace source.
“Andrew is persona non grata because of his links with Jeffrey Epstein, and Beatrice and Eugenie are not working royals. Why should they take precedence over the King’s siblings who epitomise everything the royals stand for, such as dedication to duty?”
The York family remains under scrutiny
Meanwhile, anything that puts Andrew’s daughters and their children in the spotlight, even the happy news of a new baby, may be seen as problematic because it draws attention to them that many people don’t think they deserve.
Expectant mum Eugenie, 36, and her sister Beatrice, 37, who has two daughters, Sienna, four, and Athena, 16 months, are well aware of the backlash. They’ve mostly been trying to fly under the radar since the release of the Epstein files in the US showed they and their mother Fergie lunched with the convicted sex offender in 2009 just days after he finished a jail term for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
A quieter life away from royal duties
Avoiding attention hasn’t been too difficult for Eugenie, a director of a London art gallery who spends a lot of her time living in Portugal, where Jack is a sales executive for a property development company. However, she did recently show up in London with Beatrice, a client development manager for an AI software firm, at the 40th birthday party for socialite and model Poppy Delevingne. Other guests included Taylor Swift.
According to some reports, Eugenie was apprehensive about sharing her pregnancy news because she feared how senior royals would react to her being in the limelight.
A reassuring response from the King
“Her cousin Zara Tindall persuaded her to write to the King, and she and Jack were quite surprised by the warmth of the palace response,” says the source.
“They had feared a frostier reception, but the King made contact and asked his officials to make a formal announcement.”
His Majesty, 77, is said to be very fond of his nieces, but whether his wife’s strong feelings about the Yorks and their place in the family will persuade him to make some drastic changes remains to be seen.
Prince William’s growing stance on the Yorks
The other person likely to be pushing for the removal of the Yorks is his eldest son, Prince William. The Prince of Wales is said to be so disgusted by his uncle Andrew, who was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, that he won’t be in the same room as him.
Initially, William, 43, felt sorry for his cousins and didn’t want them to be “tainted by the sins of their father and the stupidity of both parents”, the insider says. But he’s less supportive since the release of some of the Epstein files.
A noticeable royal silence
“The way he and Catherine have pointedly not publicly welcomed the baby news is a sign of how things have changed.”
Meanwhile, the fact that Eugenie and Beatrice haven’t spoken out in support of Epstein’s victims is seen as a black mark against them, and there’s concern they’ve both been able to make money from their father’s lucrative contacts in the Middle East.
“Perhaps it’s best for everyone if they were to fade quietly into the background, give up their titles and keep details of their lives to themselves,” adds the source.
