Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are facing a nightmare dilemma over Christmas plans, with fresh reports that the sisters are struggling to navigate family tensions during the festive period. A palace insider said the siblings' loyalty to their mother, Sarah Ferguson, outweighs their sympathy for their father, Prince Andrew, and they fear spending Christmas together could expose divisions between their parents.
A Family at Odds
Last Christmas, Beatrice, now 38, and Eugenie, 36, spent the holiday with the Royal Family at the King's Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, along with their children and husbands Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank. Their parents, however, were not present, instead spending Christmas at Royal Lodge in Windsor before being forced to vacate the property in the New Year.
The sisters were seen out with the Prince and Princess of Wales, King Charles and Queen Camilla at the traditional Christmas Day service at Sandringham's St Mary Magdalene church. This year, the princesses want to keep the peace with their divorced parents and avoid upsetting them, even though their relationship has been fractured over the Epstein Files and shocking revelations.
Struggling to Navigate Tensions
A palace insider told RadarOnline that Beatrice and Eugenie hold Andrew largely responsible for the family's predicament. "The last thing either of them wants is to become embroiled in another family argument, but they're starting to accept that there's probably no way of getting through the holidays without somebody being deeply unhappy," the insider said.
Neither of their parents protected their children by fostering a friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, although both Andrew and Ferguson strenuously deny any wrongdoing. Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in jail in 2008, but only served 13 months before being released in July 2009, and ordered to then serve a year's probation until August 2010.
Revelations and Humiliation
Since then, it has been revealed that Epstein emailed Andrew and his ex-wife in July 2010, after serving his probation for procuring a child for sex. Andrew replied: "Congratulations! Really, really good news. If you are in Paris around the 16th I'll be across to pay homage to your new life ahead!"
The sisters were also revealed to have flown out to New York with their mother to see Epstein and celebrate his release from jail. This year has seen Andrew humiliated by the Epstein Files' release of an old photo of himself kneeling on all fours over a female lying on the ground. In February, on his 66th birthday, Andrew was arrested at his cottage in Sandringham, Norfolk, on suspicion of misconduct in a public office for allegedly passing confidential UK information to Epstein when working as a trade envoy.
Ferguson has been humiliated by her own emails to Epstein, released in January by the US Department of Justice, in which she begged the convicted paedophile for financial help or a job, and in one message asked Epstein: "Marry me!"
No Easy Way Out
It is unlikely the sisters will travel to Ferguson's new UK home for Christmas; it is far likelier that they will all stay at Beatrice's home in the Cotswolds. Both parents failed their daughters in their own ways, with Andrew besotted with Epstein's power and Ferguson with his money, and both exposed their daughters to Epstein's circle of friends. Whatever choice the sisters make, someone will never forgive them.
