NEED TO KNOW
- Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have distanced themselves from their mother, Sarah Ferguson after her Jeffrey Epstein email scandal.
- Emails emerged that the former Duchess of York called him a “supreme friend”, weeks after publicly denouncing him.
- Since it’s emerged, she has also been dropped as the patron of seven charities.
Thanks to Sarah Ferguson’s association with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, her princess daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are publicly keeping their distance from Sarah, 66 – which means that their children are not spending much time with their grandmother.
“Fergie is heartbroken that she can only see them under a ‘cloak and dagger’ arrangement,” our source says.
Beatrice, 37, who’s mum to daughters Sienna, four, and Athena, nearly one, is “driving this” adds our source.
“She thinks it’s best for her children.” But Eugenie, 35, who was recently seen with sons August, four, and Ernest, two, at a winter carnival in London, agrees.
“Fergie would love to see more of her grandkids, but now’s not the time”, our source adds.
For the last few months, the sisters have dealt with their father’s controversies, and were reportedly been left with no choice but to now publicly cut off their mother.
Fergie was mortified when it was alleged that she’d “humbly apologised” to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for linking him to paedophilia – and even called him a “supreme friend” – back in 2011, just weeks after publicly denouncing him.
At the time, royal insiders say her long-suffering daughters felt feel unfairly caught in the middle yet again.
“Their natural instinct is to defend their mum, but it’s unfortunately indefensible,” a source said.
“They have their own families to think about, but this is a double betrayal for their mum to now be caught up in this Epstein mess with their dad. They both have no choice but to keep their contact to a minimum, and this has cut Sarah deeply. She’s horrified this has come out.”
Within days of Fergie’s email drama, seven charities dropped her as their patron, including the Teenage Cancer Trust, where she had been patron for 35 years.
As pressure mounts for King Charles to kick Fergie and Prince Andrew out of the royal family for good, insiders say their daughters will be forced to protect their own standing within the palace.
“Bea and Eugenie have no idea what to do, but have been strongly advised to stay away from both their parents or they’ll end up losing their own patronages,” the insider said at the time.
“The heat is on for the girls to keep their distance, especially if they want to stay firmly in the royal fold.”
Since then, it has been confirmed that they’re keeping their titles.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said the sisters would be devastated by the scandal and concerned about their own public futures.
“This will be a deeply painful period for the sisters, as their parents are both likely to languish in public disgrace and foreseeably so,” Richard said.
This is by no means the first scandal the ‘Duchess of Disaster’ has faced over the years, but it’s one few believe Fergie will be able to recover from – including the royal herself.
“This time it feels different, more permanent,” an insider said.
“Now all her credibility has gone, there’ll be no podcast future, no books, no charity work. Fergie turns 66 in a few weeks (in October), and she can’t ever imagine a more miserable, lonely birthday.”
While she has lost her title and accommodation, there have been reports that she is eyeing up a lucrative book deal.
In Fergie’s defence, her spokesman at the time, James Henderson, said she only sent the email to Epstein after he threatened legal action against her during a “really menacing” phone call.
“People don’t understand how terrible Epstein was. I can remember everything about that call,” James said.
“He said he would destroy the York family … He had a Hannibal Lecter-type voice. It was 14 years ago, and everyone will do what they have to do to protect their family. Her family and children will always come first for her.”
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