Princess Eugenie will be forced to make a heartbreaking decision over the announcement of her third child, a royal expert has claimed.
Eugenie is expected to give birth in a matter of weeks after she and husband Jack Brooksbank announced the pregnancy in May.
The happy time for the family has been overshadowed by a very difficult year for Eugenie and sister Princess Beatrice, with their parents Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson finding themselves at the centre of the Epstein scandal.
Since Andrew and Fergie were stripped of their titles, the divorced couple have stayed out of the spotlight.
Both have vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond revealed Andrew and Fergie will be excited about the family’s new arrival, but will have to take a step back from public involvement.
“Well, who wouldn’t want to be involved in the birth and first few days in the life of a new grandchild? It’s only natural that Fergie, and Andrew too, would want to meet the new arrival and give any support they can to Eugenie,” Ms Bond told the Mirror.
“Will it happen? Who knows! It’s thought that Eugenie has distanced herself from her disgraced father, and possibly from her mother as well.
“We do know that Fergie has been a doting grandmother in the past to her four little grandchildren and I’m sure she would be heartbroken if she were excluded from this wonderful new episode in Eugenie and Jack’s life.”
Ms Bond noted Eugenie, who lives mainly in Portugal, will issue a photo to announce the new arrival to the family, but the royal’s disgraced parents will not feature.
“Whatever relationship Eugenie now has with her parents, it will remain private and extremely discreet and that’s probably for the best all round,” she said.
The princess and Buckingham Palace released a sweet statement announcing Eugenie’s pregnancy alongside a snap of the royal’s two sons looking down at a print of an ultrasound.
The statement read: “Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank are very pleased to announce that they are expecting their third child together, due this summer. August (aged 5) and Ernest (aged 2) are also very excited to have another sibling join the family. His Majesty The King has been informed and is delighted with the news”.