How Kate Middleton is supporting Eugenie and Beatrice

A composite of a picture of Kate Middleton and a picture of Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice — (Image credit: Photo by Richard Pohle-WPA Pool/Getty Images // Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Anti Slavery Collective)

The victims of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein are obvious and deserve all of our sympathy. The hundreds of trafficked women and girls he used to create a dependent nexus of the super-rich and powerful.

And the latest revelations from the Epstein files in the US, containing millions of emails, pictures and documents, paint a picture of how deeply intertwined that group was - including the former Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah.

But there are hidden (albeit different) victims, too. And I’d include the two York princesses, Eugenie and Beatrice. Their parents’ connection to Epstein - who wasn’t just their friend, but their fixer - has brought ceaseless and unrelenting disgrace upon not only the whole house of York, but the entire Royal Family.

Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York attend the officially party celebrating Vogue World: London 2023

My experience of the two girls is that they are sweet, hard-working and hugely family focused. Beatrice has Sienna, four, and one-year-old Athena, while Eugenie has two boys, August, four, and Ernest, two.

I’m told that the princesses are "broken" by the shame and scandal. But are said to be taking different positions when it comes to supporting their father.

Beatrice was pictured out horse riding with her father and young daughter at Windsor in a calculated public show of support (although this was before the latest barrage of odious information about her father was released), while it is thought Eugenie is trying to create distance between herself and her parents, helped by the fact she now lives most of the year in Portugal. It’s been incredibly difficult.

A fine line

Both are trying to walk the fine line of being there for their parents (however awful that must be for them, given what they now know) and also supporting the royal institution, which has publicly cut off Andrew by removing all his titles and Royal Lodge home.

But behind the scenes, I’m told the sisters have been extremely grateful to the Princess of Wales for her kindness and concern. While in a new statement, the Waleses said they were 'deeply concerned' by the Epstein revelations and "focused on the victims", insiders say that they are also committed to supporting William's cousins.

Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice, Prince William Catherine, Princess of Wales attend the Easter Day service at St George's Chapel on April 16, 2017 in Windsor, England

Catherine herself has had a difficult time in recent years and arguably, at times, must have felt like she was at breaking point. To hear that she is helping is a sign she also feels very sorry for the situation Beatrice and Eugenie find themselves in, through no fault of their own.

"Publicly, of course the senior royals have to maintain distance," a source told me. "But Andrew's siblings, particularly Edward and Anne, have been worried."

"William and Catherine have been very supportive - the princess has been in regular contact with Beatrice and Eugenie just to check in and make sure they’re OK. The prince and princess have supported the King in stripping Andrew of his titles, and they are very concerned about everyone who has been affected by his behaviour."

Two photos of Kate Middleton and Princess Eugenie embracing at the St Andrews 600th Dinner in 2014

My source adds: "Kate is fond of Beatrice and Eugenie - she’s a fellow mother and can appreciate how difficult this is for them at a time when they are caring for their young children also."

Appalled and embarrassed

Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, have been apparently "shocked" at what has come out of the Epstein files. They were said to be "aghast" at their mother’s embarrassing tranche of emails to Jeffrey Epstein.

Sources close to the sisters say they are also "appalled" and "embarrassed" about the new photos of their father Andrew crouching over a mystery woman lying on the floor, and his emails to the billionaire asking for his counsel and his money. Could he pay for a screening party for Sarah’s film on Queen Victoria, could he provide a place to holiday, could he help pay their debts, could he bring friends for some "fun".

Sarah Ferguson looks at her daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice, at Royal Ascot on June 19, 2015

And, in return, Epstein was offered private dinners - and VIP tours for friends - at Buckingham Palace, lucrative introductions and access to power. The siblings have been left ashamed by their mother's sycophantic emails to the paedophile financier after his conviction for child sex crimes.

Sarah Ferguson fawned over Epstein, who famously paid some of her debts, telling the convicted sex offender that he was a "legend" and joked that they should get married. Other emails she sent him mentioned her daughter Eugenie’s sex life and revealed that Fergie had taken her children to lunch with the convicted paedophile when they were just 19 and 20.

Melania Trump, Prince Andrew, Gwendolyn Beck and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000.

Crucially, the latest tranche of documents reveal that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lied when he told Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis in November 2019 that he had cut off all contact with Epstein when he was pictured with him in New York, December 2010.

But the three million documents released in the latest batch of Epstein files show a billionaire and a then prince who were, in fact, in close, warm, continued contact.

Time to rebuild

The toxicity surrounding the York family brand is undeniable - Andrew has been placed into internal exile and is currently living at Wood Farm on the King’s Sandringham Estate, while his permanent home, Marsh Farm, undergoes renovations.

Now Beatrice and Eugenie have to rebuild their brand, away from that of their parents. The support of the Prince and Princess of Wales - and the King (those Christmas invitations to Sandringham and the Buckingham Palace lunch were invaluable) - will be key.

Kate Middleton, Prince William, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony on June 15, 2013

"I think they’re caught. There’s a very tight bond [and] I’m sure [the princesses] are being supportive of the parents,' says Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.

He predicts they will fly "a little bit more under the radar" with their own business activities (Beatrice runs her own tech advisory company and Eugenie works for art gallery Hauser & Wirth) for the time being, though.

"They’ve both been doing a lot in the Middle East. I think that will go on hold," he says. "The only way they can act now is never be photographed with their parents, and try to distance themselves as much as possible. It’s a difficult time for them. It’s deeply distressing and they must feel it desperately."

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.

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Emily Andrews is a British Journalist, Broadcaster, and Royal Commentator. Emily currently works freelance and her name has appeared in Woman, Woman&Home, Daily Mail, Fabulous, Fox News, The Mail on Sunday, The Sun, and The New York Post.

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