NEED TO KNOW
- Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have reportedly been banned from royal events “for the foreseeable future”.
- The exclusion includes high-profile fixtures such as Royal Ascot.
- Insiders claim Prince William is driving the decision to distance the monarchy from the York sisters.
- Sources say the sisters are “reeling” and fear their titles – and place in the line of succession – could be at risk.
- The move follows renewed scrutiny surrounding their father, Prince Andrew.
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were blindsided and left “reeling” last week with a shock ban from all royal events “for the foreseeable future”, including their much-beloved Royal Ascot.
Palace sources confirm the sisters “are terrified their titles will be next” – erasing them from the line of succession.
“Beatrice and Eugenie are out,” an insider tells New Idea.
“What we’re seeing is the ‘managed excommunication’ of the Yorks, and it confirms how serious the situation is.”
It’s said Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, are “humiliated by the severity” of the ban.
The source adds, “Bea has taken it the hardest, but she was always the more naive one. Eugenie tends to consider worst-case scenarios, but even she thinks this is harsh.”
The Ascot exclusion follows the arrest of their father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, after he allegedly passed sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein during his time as trade envoy.
His daughters appear multiple times in the latest Epstein files, which reveal apparent visits to Epstein in Florida with their mother, Sarah Ferguson, after his 2009 prison release.
“Beatrice and Eugenie were only young back then, but they’re worried they could be in trouble now through no fault of their own,” the source says.
Royal insiders confirm the Prince of Wales is the driving force behind the King’s decision to cut ties with the York sisters.
“They should never have turned down William’s suggestion to audit their finances to clear their name,” says an insider.
“He could have helped them, but it’s too late now. He must protect the monarchy.”
Wills, 43, is said to have requested that other royals avoid being photographed with Bea and Eugenie for the rest of the year to “protect the institution”.
It comes after long-held rumours of tension between William and his wife, the Princess of Wales, with his cousins, who have been accused of “icing out” Kate, 44, in years past.
“William’s animosity towards his aunt and uncle goes way back. Andrew, in trying to defend his brother, was awful about Diana, and Wills never got over it,” says the source.
“Then Sarah spilled all Diana’s private matters in her memoir, and he never forgave or forgot.”
“This latest situation with his cousins confirmed what he always feared – the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
The Crown producers plot Andrew & Fergie spin-off
A downtrodden Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson are facing fresh embarrassment as Netflix is reportedly reviving The Crown purely to chronicle the former Duke and Duchess of York’s dramatic public downfall.
The streaming giant is in “advanced talks” with The Crown creator Peter Morgan to dramatise the ex-prince’s arrest and his Epstein-linked scandals, either as a one-off special or limited series.
A Disney insider told the Daily Mail: “The race is on to be the first studio to bring out an Andrew film. We’ve been bombarded with screenwriters.”
Screenwriter Jeremy Brock, who pitched a Greek tragedy with Andrew as the antihero, says, “Netflix and Amazon executives are 100 per cent talking about making a drama based on Andrew’s continued downfall.”
With Andrew stripped of titles, protections and influence, insiders say it’s only going to get worse for him and ex-wife Fergie, both 66.
“It’s open season on Andrew and Sarah,” says a source. “Neither have royal protection anymore, so Hollywood’s cashing in. To think Sarah was worried about that miniseries about her ex-seamstress, now she can expect miniseries and dramatised documentaries as well.”
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