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Stepping out in London on Wednesday night, Prince Andrew’s daughters Beatrice and Eugenie wore defiant smiles.
Their father may just have been fired in the most brutal realignment in royal history since the abdication of Edward VIII, but for the blood princesses, it was very much business as usual. Beatrice went to Annabel’s nightclub, and was seen entering through the club through the back door. Eugenie was at a charity dinner.
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A source told The Daily Beast that they are “deeply distressed” about the predicament their father finds himself in, but are standing by him and offering their support.
“Andrew was fighting not just for his survival but for all their survival,” the source, who has known the family and their circle for many years, told The Daily Beast. “Andrew and Sarah will obviously be worried about how his resignation impacts their children’s future.”
Indeed, among the first casualties of Andrew’s new reduced status will be Princess Beatrice’s wedding next year.
The Yorks were widely mocked for a stunning folie de grandeur earlier this year when they insisted their younger daughter, Eugenie, be given a full royal wedding, equivalent in splendor to that of Harry and Meghan, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle when she married her husband, ex bartender and drinks entrepreneur, Jack Brooksbank.
After the wedding ceremony, the couple enjoyed an open air carriage ride around Windsor, similar to what Harry and Meghan had done, only much more poorly attended by thronging plebs.
After some hectoring from the Yorks, commercial channel ITV agree to run the wedding live, but the BBC declined to follow suit, declaring there wasn’t sufficient public interest.
The Yorks were believed to be pushing for a similarly grand, semi-state affair for their older daughter Beatrice, who got engaged to her property developer boyfriend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, earlier this year.
That will now not be happening—but Beatrice, friends say, will not be too bothered.
“I can honestly say that the splendor of her wedding will be the last thing on Beatrice’s mind,” a friend told The Daily Beast. “Eugenie and Beatrice are both genuinely really good kids and very close to both their parents. They have been through a hell of a lot and they have never turned on each other which is really pretty extraordinary when you think about it.
“The girls have both been not just reconciled to but have actually welcomed living more normal lives and having normal jobs for some time now, even if their parents have not. Say what you like about the Yorks, but the loyalty of that family is something to behold.”
The friend says that the fact their father used a pizza party with them as his alibi for not having met Virginia Roberts is unlikely to upset or bother them, as they would “simply believe him.”
In October 2018, the two sisters gave an interview to British Vogue in which they spoke at length about their lives and upbringings.
Eugenie said: “We've had some serious grounding from our parents. They’ve had their fair share of terrible media interest and it makes us stronger…We believe very strongly in who we are, and the support system of our friends and our family is pretty incredible. There’s no point being angry with anyone for beating us up—we just need to shine light and love in the world.”
The Queen is known to be proud of the way Beatrice and Eugenie have thrived despite the troubles and trauma their parents disastrous life choices have exposed them too. They are frequent recipients of her most hallowed invitation; to afternoon tea.
William and Harry are also both extremely fond of “Bea and Eug” and admire the way they have carved out professional lives: Beatrice works in tech and finance and Eugenie works in the art world, as an associate director at contemporary art gallery Hauser & Wirth.
Prince Andrew does not have much left. He has been forced to resign his patronage of over 200 charities, and while he has been allowed to keep Pitch @ Palace, his entrepreneurship program, the remaining sponsors are unlikely to continue backing it while he remains its public face.
But whatever reputational tumult engulfs him, Andrew still, for now at least, has the love and support of his children.
