Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie attended the royal family’s Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace
The pair looked ready for some festive fun as Beatrice drove them to Buckingham Palace(Image: Getty Images)
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were warmly received at the Royal family’s early Christmas gathering at Buckingham Palace despite missing Kate Middleton’s annual carol service. The sisters, aged 37 and 35, were all smiles as they arrived together at the Palace gates for one of the Royal family’s cherished festive traditions.
Their attendance at the pre-Christmas lunch comes after a particularly challenging period for the young royals. Their parents, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, have been embroiled in controversy due to their associations with the late convicted sex offender and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
However, former BBC Royal correspondent Jennie Bond told the Mirror that she believes King Charles is emulating his late mother’s approach in his relationship and support for the young Royal siblings.
“Whatever you think of their parents, Beatrice and Eugenie have not been accused of doing anything wrong,” she stated. “They have had to witness their parents being humiliated and publicly criticised over many years, yet they have remained close to the rest of the Royal family.
Not every member of the family will be joining the annual church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham(Image: PA)
“Their Grannie, the late Queen, showed them great affection and the King also appears eager to shield them. So I believe everyone would have been very welcoming at the Palace lunch. I was pleased to see them looking so bright and happy.”
The subject of Andrew, who lost his Royal titles and was forced to vacate Royal Lodge in October, has been at the centre of Royal family media coverage in recent months amid fresh Epstein revelations and mounting calls for US President Donald Trump to declassify government documents relating to the investigation into his offences.
The monarch’s younger sibling has faced fierce criticism from American lawmakers over what they described as his “silence” regarding their request for a “transcribed interview” concerning his lengthy association with Epstein, as part of their inquiry into the government’s management of the case. He refutes all accusations made against him.
However, whilst the story continues generating international headlines, Jennie believes the subject of Andrew and Sarah would have been off-limits during this week’s family gathering.
“I imagine the ‘elephant’ in the room would be any discussion about Andrew and Sarah,” she explained to us. “That would just be too awkward for all involved.”
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are facing some difficult choices when it comes to Christmas, a royal expert says(Image: Justin Goff Photos/Getty Images)
She suggested that Prince William, who joined the lunch alongside Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, would likely have “particular sympathy” for what his cousins Beatrice and Eugenie are enduring, given his own experience with his parents’ situation. “He had to endure endless publicity about his parents as he was growing up. Of course the headlines then were for very different reasons: the disintegration of his parents’ marriage. But it was still traumatic for a young boy. You have to feel for these young women.”
The seasonal gathering at the Palace on Tuesday represents a longstanding custom for The Firm, typically occurring during the week preceding Christmas Day with approximately 70 of the monarch’s family members invited. It provides an opportunity for them to mark Christmas in advance of December 25, as not all participate in the main festivities at Sandringham for the morning church service and Christmas lunch.
According to Jennie, the pressing matter now concerns where Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, along with Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, plus their children, will spend the actual day.
She continued: “Christmas is all about family: so where do they go? Do they show loyalty to their parents – and will their parents even be together on Christmas Day?”.
“Do they join the rest of the royals at Sandringham? Or do they spend the festivities with their own little families and their in-laws? In the end, Christmas is all about children and making it special for them. So I suspect Beatrice and Eugenie will go wherever they feel their little ones will have the most magical time.”