On Father’s Day, Princess Eugenie shared a heartfelt tribute to husband Jack Brooksbank, posting two previously unseen family photos featuring the couple’s sons, August and Ernest.
In one image she shared on Instagram, Brooksbank is seen walking hand-in-hand with the boys from behind. Another showed him keeping one of his sons entertained in a church pew surrounded by toys and stickers.
Alongside the photos, which she posted on June 21, Eugenie praised her husband of seven years as “the best there is” and the family’s “chief child entertainer,” adding that their sons “couldn’t ask for a better Dada.”
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank are preparing to welcome their third child later this summer and will celebrate their eighth wedding anniversary in October. By: Fred Duval/MEGA
What the post didn’t include, however, was any acknowledgment of her own father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — an omission that sparked discussion among royal observers.
Growing distance?
The absence of any Father’s Day message for the scandal-plagued former Duke of York comes amid continued speculation about his relationship with both of his daughters.
According to recent reports cited by HOLA!, Eugenie and sister Princess Beatrice have, at least publicly, increasingly distanced themselves from their parents as scrutiny surrounding Mountbatten-Windsor’s and Sarah Ferguson‘s ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein continues.
When Buckingham Palace announced Eugenie’s third pregnancy earlier this year, neither Mountbatten-Windsor nor Ferguson was included in the official congratulatory statement. Reports have also claimed that the divide has become so significant that Mountbatten-Windsor learned about his daughter’s pregnancy through his former wife rather than directly from Eugenie herself.
While the royals have not publicly addressed the reports, the Father’s Day omission has once again fueled questions about where things stand between father and daughter.
Fall from grace
In February — weeks after the U.S. Justice Department released emails suggesting he had passed along sensitive government documents to Epstein while serving as Britain’s trade envoy — the former Prince Andrew, whose royal titles were stripped away by his brother King Charles III in late 2025, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s standing within the royal family has dramatically changed during his brother King Charles III’s reign. By: ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA
The arrest followed a tumultuous period for the ex-royal. In addition to losing his titles, he was forced to give up Royal Lodge, the Crown Estate mansion he’d long occupied, and relocate to a smaller property on the king’s privately owned Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England.
The fallout has continued to affect his standing within the family. Earlier in June, Beatrice and Eugenie attended cousin Peter Phillips‘ wedding to Harriet Sperling while their parents were reportedly not invited because their presence would have been a “distraction” amid renewed attention on their Epstein ties.
The sisters remain in the fold
Despite the controversy surrounding their father, both York sisters appear to have retained their place within the wider royal family.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie attended cousin Peter Phillips’ wedding in June despite ongoing scrutiny surrounding their parents. By: Kaspar Wenstrup/Aller/MEGA
According to previous reports, Charles has made it clear that Beatrice and Eugenie remain welcome at major royal family events despite the controversies surrounding their father and mother.
A source previously told The Sun that “the king always wanted both [Beatrice and Eugenie] to remain part of the family.”
But the balancing act has become increasingly delicate as the sisters navigate their own public lives while attempting to avoid being pulled into the scandals surrounding their parents.
Fresh scrutiny elsewhere
The Father’s Day chatter came days after Eugenie and Beatrice faced renewed attention of their own.
According to a new government report, Princess Beatrice’s apartment at St. James’s Palace (pictured) and Princess Eugenie’s Kensington Palace residence are rented at reduced rates, with their uncle King Charles III covering the costs through income from his Duchy of Lancaster estate. By: MEGA
Recent reports revealed that Charles has ordered a review of discounted lease arrangements that allow the sisters and other family members to live in royal properties funded through his Privy Purse.
According to findings in a recent National Audit Office report, Beatrice’s London residence at St. James’s Palace and Eugenie’s London home, Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace, are leased at rates below market value, with costs covered through income from the king’s private Duchy of Lancaster estate.
The review is part of a larger examination of royal property arrangements that was initially triggered by questions surrounding Mountbatten-Windsor’s former lease of Royal Lodge for a “peppercorn rent.”