King Charles has extended an olive branch to Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie with an invitation to this year’s Royal Ascot.
It’s a significant show of support for the sisters, who have found themselves caught in the crossfire of the ongoing Epstein fallout surrounding their parents.
According to Hello!, they have received a personal invitation to the event from their uncle, the King.
But whether they’ll show up is another question entirely.
“The question is, would they want to go to a public event of that nature?” a friend of the sisters told Hello!.
“They will get criticism whether they go or not. They just can’t win.”
“Bea has found the scrutiny very hard, especially the strain of the past few weeks. It has felt as though things have been in freefall, and she’s being hammered and bullied by commentators.”
Royal Ascot is Britain’s most prestigious five-day racing event. It takes place from June 16 to 20 this year, and is one of the highlights of the royal calendar.
King Charles and Queen Camilla traditionally attend the event, following in the footsteps of Queen Elizabeth II, who had a passion for the races.
If the sisters do attend, they would likely be joined by their husbands, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank, as in previous years.
The invitation comes as sisters Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 36, have been quietly stepping back from public life in recent weeks.
Their motherm, Sarah Ferguson, has been largely in hiding since the latest Epstein files were released in January.
Their father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has been exiled to Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate following his arrest.
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