It seems that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s relationship with various members of the royal family are changing—and that the Princess of Wales’ battle with cancer has spurred on some of the shift.
According to a source speaking with OK, Kate’s diagnosis “changed Prince William’s relationship with Beatrice and Eugenie,” they said. As King Charles’ slimmed-down monarchy became even more so in Kate’s absence—as well as, at times, the King himself, as he too was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year—the York sisters are “very willing to step up and do more at this current time to help,” the source said. “They’re very fond of their cousin [William] and their uncle [Charles], and they want to do everything they can to support them. And they believe in the institution they grew up in.”
The source added that “Bea and Eugenie can’t imagine what William is going through right now, and it was an honor for them to give him some support” at a Buckingham Palace garden party back in May, they said. “The York sisters were determined not to let him down.”
Of their relationship with Prince Harry—who Eugenie in particular has always been close to—OK reports that the sisters “haven’t communicated” with Harry or Meghan Markle “for quite a while now,” a source said. “They are nowhere near as close as they once were.” They added that “Beatrice and Eugenie have firmly pledged their allegiance to the royal family,” but that doesn’t mean that they’re cutting the Sussexes off. Both Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, “are very careful about what they say to friends, because they don’t want to be seen as badmouthing Harry or Meghan,” the source added. “There’s still a friendship there, but it’s not like the close family bond they had before Harry moved to America.”
Royal author Tom Quinn said that Beatrice and Eugenie feel that “they have far more in common with Harry and Meghan than with any other part of the family,” he said, though it appears that the gulf between the York sisters and the rest of the royal family is closing in light of the events of 2024.
“It is perfectly possible to be involved in a deep, public family rift and be on amiable terms with all involved,” royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said, per OK. “Princess Eugenie, who with her husband Jack Brooksbank is mainly based in the Algarve [in Portugal], had Harry and Meghan as visitors. They’ve got on over the years, and she and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, were resident[s] for a period at Frogmore Cottage whilst the Sussexes were in California before they were evicted.”
But the sisters’ relationship with the rest of the royal family is growing closer, and of Eugenie, Fitzwilliams added that “She posted on Instagram that she was ‘delighted to support my family,’” he said of an Instagram post Eugenie made following the May garden party. “These are very meaningful words at the moment.”
Of the ongoing rift between William and Harry, Fitzwilliams said “It would be of benefit to all if it were resolved. But until that happens, Beatrice and Eugenie, who conceivably could act as go-betweens, are undoubtedly supporting William and are likely to give him their full backing if there are further attacks by the Sussexes on the royal family,” he said, pointing particularly to something like Spare, Harry’s 2023 memoir that did little to mend family relations.
