Princess Beatrice’s tragic 4-word question after Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson split

The young princess was confused when her mother was suddenly uninvited from the royal carriage.

Princess Beatrice’s childhood was marked by heartbreak at a royal event, after her mother, Sarah Ferguson, separated from Prince Andrew. The princess asked a heartbreaking question that shed light on the impact of her parents’ separation on the young royal.

The couple had married at Westminster Abbey in 1986, but their relationship soon came under strain. Andrew was away at sea for long stretches due to his naval career, and the couple spent less than 40 days together in their first year of marriage, reported the Mirror.

The distance took its toll on their relationship, and by March 1992, the Duke and Duchess of York announced their separation. Although the pair remained on friendly terms, Sarah’s royal status diminished rapidly.

A biography of the disgraced duke by Andrew Lownie, titled The Rise and Fall of the House of York, depicted how evident the change was during a procession at Royal Ascot, one of the most prestigious events in the royal calendar.

Just a year earlier, the Duchess had enjoyed the privilege of riding in a carriage alongside the Queen Mother.

After the separation, however, Sarah was forced to watch from the roadside as the royal procession passed by. Beside her stood Princess Beatrice, who was still too young to understand why her mother was no longer part of the pageantry.

Lownie said: “Sarah’s reduced status was quickly evident. The previous Ascot, she had been riding in a carriage with the Queen Mother. Now she watched from the roadside as the Queen passed by. Beatrice cried out, ‘Can we come too?’ The Queen just carried on waving.”

Lownie depicts Andrew as sex-obsessed, a “useful idiot,” and easy prey for Jeffrey Epstein.

Two-thirds of Britons believe the Duke of York should be stripped of his remaining royal titles, according to a new poll.

Research by YouGov found that 67 per cent of the public would back the removal of Andrew’s Duke of York title, as well as his princely style.

Legislation would be required for Parliament to prevent Andrew continuing as the Duke of York, while his birthright to be a prince, as the son of a monarch, could be changed if a Letters Patent were issued by the King.

The duke stopped using his style of His Royal Highness following his infamously disastrous Newsnight interview, but it could be removed entirely by a Letters Patent.

Andrew stepped away from public life in 2019 amid controversy over his friendship with convicted billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

He later paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Virginia Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein as a teenager, and whom Andrew claimed never to have met.

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