Every family has its black sheep. Most families, however, don’t have theirs dissected in bestselling books, splashed across front pages and debated around the world.
Yet that has been the reality for Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie for much of their adult lives.
As fresh revelations emerge from royal biographer Andrew Lownie’s book about the extraordinary cast of characters who moved through the orbit of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson over the years, it is difficult not to feel a degree of sympathy for their daughters.
Not because Beatrice and Eugenie are victims in the traditional sense, but because they have spent decades carrying the consequences of decisions they never made.
The York sisters were born into one of the most privileged families in the world, yet they also inherited one of the monarchy’s most complicated legacies.
For years, the York name became synonymous with controversy: their parents’ divorce, Sarah Ferguson’s financial troubles, Andrew’s spectacular fall from grace and a seemingly endless cycle of controversies that repeatedly dragged the family back into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Eugenie and Beatrice’s difficult position
At times, it felt almost impossible to separate Beatrice and Eugenie from the scandals surrounding them.
And yet something remarkable has happened over the past decade: they have carefully managed to do exactly that.
What strikes me most about the latest York revelations is not what they tell us about Andrew or Sarah.
It is what they reveal about Beatrice and Eugenie by contrast, because while their parents’ reputations have been battered repeatedly, the sisters have emerged with something neither parent managed to protect.
Public goodwill that is no accident; both women have spent years carefully navigating an impossible balancing act.
They have remained fiercely loyal to their parents while refusing to become defined by them. They have never publicly criticised Andrew or Sarah. But nor have they allowed their lives to become consumed by defending them.
Instead, they have built families, careers and identities of their own.
In many ways, they have done precisely what modern royals are expected to do.
Show up, avoid drama and get on with it, and the result is that while the York brand itself appeared almost beyond repair at one point, Beatrice and Eugenie have slowly rehabilitated it.
Not through grand gestures or public relations campaigns, but through consistency, and that process appears to be paying dividends.
Last month’s announcement that Eugenie is expecting her third child was accompanied by a notably warm response from Buckingham Palace.
“His Majesty The King has been informed and is delighted with the news,” the statement read.
For many royal watchers, it was a routine line, but I suspect it was more significant than that.
“It’s a clear signal that Eugenie, and by association her sister Princess Beatrice, are still considered a part of the royal family very much,” a source tells New Idea.
There was a time when many wondered whether the York sisters would forever be defined by the mistakes of their parents, yet instead, the opposite appears to have happened.
The further Andrew and Sarah have drifted from the centre of royal life, the more respected their daughters have become.
“The palace’s support is very welcome and just what both women needed right now,” the source adds.
“It’s almost as if this surprise baby has saved the York sisters.”
Perhaps what we are seeing is something larger.
A changing of the guard within the York family itself: for years, Andrew and Sarah were the story, but now, increasingly, Beatrice and Eugenie are. Which brings me to Prince William.
The future king remains committed to a streamlined monarchy, but the reality is that trusted family members are becoming increasingly valuable.
The pool is shrinking, the demands are not.
That does not necessarily mean Beatrice and Eugenie are destined to become working royals, but it would be surprising if William failed to recognise the strengths they bring.
They understand royal life, they have survived intense public scrutiny, and perhaps most importantly, they have demonstrated exactly the qualities the monarchy values most: discretion, loyalty and resilience.
Unlike some members of the extended royal family, they have never sought to profit from their royal status.
Unlike others, they have never publicly turned on the institution; they have simply got on with the job of rebuilding trust.
That is why I increasingly wonder whether Beatrice and Eugenie may become more important to the future of the monarchy than anyone currently realises.
Not because of who their parents are, but because of everything they have managed to overcome.
The latest revelations in Andrew Lownie’s book once again remind us of the extraordinary controversies that have surrounded the York family over the years.
Yet perhaps the most interesting York story isn’t about Andrew, or Sarah, or even the scandals themselves.
Perhaps it is about two daughters who inherited one of the most damaged brands in royal history and somehow managed to rebuild it. And in doing so, may have secured their place in the monarchy’s future.
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