It was an extraordinary sight to witness Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie making their first joint public appearance on the very same day their disgraced father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, officially lost his princely status and became a commoner.
On November 7, the sisters, aged 37 and 35, were seen embracing warmly in the middle of a busy street in Mayfair, seemingly oblivious to the attention around them. They then exchanged what appeared to be words of comfort. Under normal circumstances, such a public display would already be unusual for members of the Royal Family, but the timing raised further speculation, with some questioning whether the photos had been staged.
Forensic lip reader Nicola Hickling, who analysed the footage for the Daily Mail, said the moment affected her deeply. She claimed that during the exchange, Beatrice reassured Eugenie by saying, “We’re in this together, don’t forget that.” Hickling also suggested that Beatrice warned her sister, “It’s going to get harder,” and “We can’t do anything,” to which Eugenie reportedly replied, “Everything is changing.” According to Hickling, both sisters admitted to feeling “anxious,” with Beatrice adding, “It’s a really anxious time.”
Their meeting coincided with King Charles issuing rare Letters Patent formally stripping Andrew of his HRH style and his title of “Prince.”
After the Daily Mail published the images, online commenters began to speculate whether Beatrice and Eugenie had coordinated the moment for public sympathy. On Reddit, some users suggested the sisters might have contacted photographers themselves. One argued that appearing without makeup, dressed casually, and seen in an emotional conversation could be a strategic attempt to distance themselves from their father’s scandals. Another called the meeting a “PR trick for sympathy,” while others claimed the photoshoot looked staged. Splash News, the agency that owns the images, firmly denied those allegations.
Despite the situation surrounding their father, royal sources said Beatrice and Eugenie will retain their HRH titles and remain part of the House of York. The King reportedly does not want his nieces to be overshadowed or punished for the actions of their father.
Andrew’s downfall escalated following renewed scrutiny triggered by Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, which resurfaced allegations regarding his connection to Jeffrey Epstein. His struggles deepened when newly released emails from 2011 revealed Epstein admitting the authenticity of the infamous photograph showing Andrew with then-17-year-old Virginia Roberts. Epstein reportedly took the photo himself with a disposable camera before the group – including Ghislaine Maxwell – went out to dinner and later to a nightclub. Although Andrew has always denied wrongdoing, he settled Ms Giuffre’s civil lawsuit in 2022 for a multi-million-pound sum.
This revelation is another damaging blow for Andrew, who has long tried to cast doubt on the photo’s authenticity. He has now been ordered to testify before the US Congress regarding his ties to Epstein.
Following their emotional moment in Mayfair, the sisters returned to their professional duties. Beatrice, who lives in the Cotswolds, made her first public appearance shortly after at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, visiting the Borne research laboratories, an organisation dedicated to preventing premature births – a cause close to her heart after her daughter Athena was born prematurely.
The next day, Beatrice appeared smiling in a photo shared on the Big Change charity’s official Instagram page, alongside Holly Branson. Big Change, which Beatrice co-founded, advocates for modernising the UK’s education system and recently celebrated the Labour government’s new curriculum reform. In the photo, Beatrice wore a blue shirt, tan skirt and white trainers, linking arms with fellow team members.
It was also revealed that Beatrice has taken on a new role as deputy patron of The Outward Bound Trust. Her uncle, Prince Edward, has just been named its royal patron. Beatrice has served as a trustee since 2019, the same year the charity accepted Andrew’s resignation from the role he held for decades, originally inherited from Prince Philip.