As Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie continue to step up their royal duties, some sources believe they’re starting to take sides in the ongoing rift between their cousins Prince William and Harry—and it seems they might be leaning towards Team William.
The rift between the royal brothers has been a hot topic ever since Harry and Meghan stepped back from their royal duties in 2020. Their bombshell interview with Oprah in 2021, followed by Harry’s revealing memoir Spare
in 2023, further strained their relationship with the royal family, particularly with William.
Now, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams is suggesting that the Princesses of York are showing their “solidarity” with King Charles and Prince William over Prince Harry. As the daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Eugenie have always occupied a unique position within the royal family. While not considered “working royals” in the traditional sense, they’ve increasingly taken on public roles, especially in the wake of their father Prince Andrew’s retreat from royal duties.
Recently, the sisters have been ramping up their presence at official engagements even more, particularly at those involving Prince William. This comes at a pretty crucial time for the royals, with both King Charles and Princess Kate dealing with health issues.
As Fitzwilliams pointed out, the sisters recently made sure to show up at William’s first Garden Party of 2024 while Kate’s undergoing cancer treatment. He said, per the Daily Mail, that their presence was “unquestionably a show of solidarity with the heir to the throne who is currently not on speaking terms with his errant brother.” He also noted that at Royal Ascot, “Eugenie, who had been in the royal procession, was seen laughing and joking with William.” Definitely sounds like someone’s getting cozy with Team Wales!
Now, you might be thinking—weren’t Eugenie and Harry super close? Well, apparently, things have cooled off a bit. A source told Express UK that “Beatrice and Eugenie have firmly pledged their allegiance to the Royal Family” and “haven’t communicated with the Sussexes for quite a while now.”
Interestingly, there’s also been some extra York family drama involving Sarah Ferguson, affectionately known as “Fergie” and mother to Beatrice and Eugenie. Despite Meghan previously claiming that Fergie taught her how to curtsey, the Duchess of York recently stated in an interview that she “hasn’t really met” Meghan. Awkward.
The whole situation seems particularly tricky for Eugenie, given how close she once was with Prince Harry. The source mentioned that “Eugenie and Jack are very careful about what they say to friends because they don’t want to be seen as bad-mouthing Harry or Meghan.” But it’s clear that things aren’t as cozy as they used to be.
While it seems Beatrice and Eugenie are on Team Charles and William these days, who knows? Maybe they’ll be the ones to help patch things up in the future. But for now, it seems they’re focusing on supporting the working royals during this challenging time for the family.
