Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faces fresh family snub as ex-wife Sarah ‘Fergie’ Ferguson breaks cover in Portugal to meet Princess Eugenie’s new baby

Princess Eugenie, 36, gave birth to her third child, a daughter, on August 4 in Lisbon.

Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, announced the arrival of their baby, who is yet to be publicly named, in a post on Instagram, while King Charles III also issued an official statement welcoming the newest addition to the royal family.

But one person who appears to be missing from the celebrations is the baby’s grandfather, Andrew, 66, who reportedly has not had contact with Eugenie in months following the release of the Epstein files.

The files, released in February, shed further light on the extent of Mountbatten-Windsor’s relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and preceded further consequences for the former prince, including the loss of his remaining titles and his move to Marsh Farm on the King’s private Sandringham Estate.

He was also arrested on suspicion of misconduct and sex offences by Thames Valley Police, but has since been released under investigation.

Fergie, 66, was also named throughout the files, including in emails in which she described Epstein as a “supreme friend”. 

The documents also indicated she had taken her daughters to meet him in Florida following his release from jail after his 2009 conviction for sex crimes against a minor.

However, being named in the files does not in itself indicate wrongdoing, and Andrew himself has always strenuously denied wrongdoing.

While Andrew appears to have been iced out by Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – particularly the latter – the same reportedly cannot be said for Fergie, who has been spotted in Portugal in the weeks surrounding Eugenie’s latest arrival.

According to the Daily Mail, staff at O Fadista restaurant in the village of Melides, near where the Brooksbanks live in a £3.6 million (AUD $6.8 million) luxury oceanside villa, said they had seen Fergie “several times” previously and had heard she had returned to help with her fifth grandchild.

One waiter told the outlet: “Eugenie and her husband are regulars and have been here quite a few times with friends. Their mothers have also been here several times but I’ve never seen the father, Andrew.

“Now Eugenie has had a baby, there has been talk that Sarah is back in Melides to help her with the new little one.”

Eugenie and Jack spend much of their time in Portugal, where the 40-year-old marketer works for luxury development company Discovery Land, though the family also maintains a residence at Ivy Cottage on the Kensington Palace estate.

While both Eugenie and Beatrice are understood to have remained close to their mother, neither is believed to have visited their father at Marsh Farm.

According to the Mail, while Beatrice is considered more of a “daddy’s girl”, Eugenie is said to have been repelled by her father’s behaviour and distanced herself from him.

The outlet further reported that Andrew only learnt of Eugenie’s third pregnancy through Fergie.

However, despite the image of isolation that has surrounded Andrew since his dramatic fall from grace, he is understood to still hold a passport and was recently reported to have visited a stud farm in France.

British historian and biographer Andrew Lownie, who penned the bestselling book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, believes the public has been presented with a carefully managed image of the disgraced former prince living in virtual isolation.

Speaking exclusively to News24.com.au, Lownie said: “Andrew is on a private estate; we don’t know his comings and goings. He can get out by lying in a car, and people can be brought in to see him.

“So I suspect again, the idea that he’s under house arrest and basically in isolation is all just window dressing.”

Lownie also hit out at the York sisters, who are reportedly determined to retain their royal titles amid their parents’ fall from grace.

“Beatrice and Eugenie are rather blatantly partying around the world and giving everyone two fingers,” Lownie said.

“If they really were serious about their careers and their marriages, they would basically give up their titles and retire from public view.

“But their careers depend on them being princesses and their access to the royal family-they’re just mini Fergies. So of course they’re not going to give up these perks.”

Despite Andrew’s estrangement from much of the royal family, he remains eighth in line to the British throne, with Eugenie’s newborn daughter 15th in the line of succession.

Eugenie and Beatrice have also retained their HRH styles and princess titles despite neither being a working royal.