Princess Eugenie is devastated after her dream of launching an anti-sex slavery podcast has been dealt a bitter blow by her father Prince Andrew’s ongoing sex scandal – with plans for the ground breaking project reportedly put on hold.
With Andrew accused of having sex with an underaged girl supplied by his friend, late sex creep Jeffrey Epstein, Eugenie’s work with the Anti-Slavery Collective – which involves cases of young girls being trafficked for sex – has been overshadowed.
WATCH: Footage shows Prince Andrew inside Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion
A source tells UK newspaper The Sun that Eugenie is struggling to deal with the drama.
‘It’s all very difficult for Eugenie at the moment — she and Beatrice are very close to their father and are being very supportive.
‘But obviously the timing of her anti-slavery and sex trafficking initiative is hugely difficult given the renewed headlines around Andrew.
‘She won’t want to launch a new podcast against modern day slavery, when that’s exactly what Epstein was doing.
‘I’d expect the launch to be quietly put back.’
The podcast had been a major project for the princess, who has been desperate to make her own name, instead of being unfairly seen as a just another minor royal mooching off the system.
‘We’re developing a podcast with Freedom United, and we have a speaker series called Tech Tackles Trafficking,’ Eugenie said at the time of the project’s conception.
‘It’s forced labour, forced marriage, domestic servitude. It’s people not being paid correctly.
‘The Anti-Slavery Collective’s mission is to bring people together, because together we’re so much more powerful, and we can affect serious change.
‘And if we can do that, and get people working on the same thing, sharing information, sharing what their best practices are, then we can make a real difference.’
Eugenie isn’t the only one struggling with the effects of her father’s drama. New Idea has learnt that now, with pressure intensifying, Princess Beatrice is facing the possibility that she may walk down the aisle without her father by her side.
‘Bea is seriously considering not inviting her father to the wedding because of all the Epstein drama,’ a source close to the royal tells us. ‘It’s all such a messy and disgraceful affair and Bea hates that her father is tied up in it all and she doesn’t want that drama ruining her wedding.’
The Duke of York has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing following the financiers arrest on charges of sex trafficking.