Beatrice and Andrew’s ‘power play’ over rest of the royals: Body language expert reveals how Princess failed to curtsey to the late Queen while her father promoted his ‘high level status as her favourite son’

Princess Beatrice and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor engaged in a deliberate ‘power play’ on the rest of the Royal Family during the Queen’s 93rd birthday celebrations, a body language expert has claimed.

Queen Elizabeth II When Elizabeth arrived at St George’s Chapel in Windsor in April 2019, she was greeted with joy by several royal women, including Zara Tindall, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and Kate, Princess of Wales.

Although all women followed the traditional etiquette of curtsying to Her Majesty, there was one obvious exception: her granddaughter, Princess Beatrice.

As Beatrice, 37, stood at the entrance to the Chapel with her now disgraced father, the princess deviated from the norm by smiling at her grandmother rather than curtsying respectfully.

Andrew and Beatrice’s relationship with the Royal Family has come under renewed scrutiny amid the emerging scandal, including its ties to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

But according to Judi James, six years before the scandal truly emerged, there were already signs that the pair might be tempted to deviate from royal protocol.

He claimed that Beatrice and Andrew’s position, away from the rest of the royal family and closest to the entrance, was deliberately taken by the former Duke to “boast of his legendary role as the late Queen’s ‘favourite’ son”.

Mrs James told the Daily Mail: ‘Beatrice clearly avoids respectfully greeting the other royal women and stands up straight and looks on as her grandmother passes and enters the church.

‘This gives the impression that Andrew is leaping in status in a non-verbal power play to define his own ‘special role’ within the family.

‘He draws a line to the point closest to the door so he and Beatrice can dive right behind the Queen, with Princess Anne off to one side and her brother Edward just behind the royal line.’

According to Judi James, Beatrice and Andrew’s position away from the rest of the royal family and closest to the entrance was deliberately taken by the former Duke ‘to boast about his legendary role as the late Queen’s “favourite” son. Pictured: Kate curtsies to the Queen

Ms James noted that both Andrew and Beatrice’s greetings to the late Queen appeared ‘deliberately casual’, with Andrew greeting his mother ‘with a nod and wrinkled brows that suggested he was making an informal joke’.

‘Beatrice is smiling but her smile disappears as the Queen passes,’ he added.

In contrast, Kate, Zara and Sophie were seen curtsying to Her Majesty with a ‘warm, loving, more family-based smile’.

In particular, Ms James observed that Kate, then the Duchess of Cambridge, was making eye contact and smiling in a way that showed the Queen she was ‘happy to have the chance to show her love and respect in public’.

Beatrice may have curtsied to her grandmother earlier in the day, and so technically she did not need to do so again, per traditional royal protocol.

But in this case, Ms James suggested that the Queen’s refusal to “make an extra bow as a clear sign of respect in addition to her birthday” and to “avoid the rituals of others” appeared “to send a message that seems quite deliberate”.

In contrast, he added, ‘other women descended one after another in society, and the men bowed their heads in respect and devotion.’

Although Beatrice’s behavior suggests a possibly more ‘distant’ relationship with the late Queen, there is a significant amount of evidence to suggest the pair shared a fairly close bond.

Mrs James told the Daily Mail: ‘Beatrice clearly avoids respectfully greeting other royal women and stands upright and looks on as her grandmother walks past and into the church.’

In contrast, Kate, Zara and Sophie were seen curtsying to Her Majesty with a ‘warm, loving, more family-oriented smile’.

In fact, Her Majesty was said to have remained particularly close to Beatrice and Eugenie, and felt strongly that they should retain a prominent role in the Firm, despite calls for a modernized or ‘weakened’ monarchy in the last years of her life.

A senior member of the Queen’s court previously told The Mail on Sunday that while Charles appeared to publicly support his plans for the future, he was adamant that hopes of sidelining Beatrice and Eugenie would be impractical.

‘The Queen adores the girls and wants them to take on some sort of role,’ the source said. ‘Charles’ vision for a modern family is great, but how can the Royals do everything they do now with just five players?’ they said.

The late Queen was so fond of her two grandchildren that she married Beatrice and Eugenie for World War II in 1997, following their parents’ separation. He even gifted the ostentatious Birch Hall, which is on the grade list.

Priced at £1.5 million, the spacious seven-bedroom property comes equipped with a tennis court and pool. However, their mother, Sarah Ferguson, declined this kind offer as she was concerned about the extensive maintenance of the large house.

Meanwhile, when Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in an intimate ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor, the Queen lent Beatrice a Sir Norman Hartnell dress as her wedding dress.

The vintage Norman Hartnell dress, redesigned by Angela Kelly and Stewart Parvin, was worn by the late Queen at a state dinner in Rome in 1961, the 1962 Lawrence of Arabia premiere and the 1966 State Opening of Parliament.

According to insiders, Beatrice was said to have made a ‘last minute request’ to borrow her grandmother’s dress after having a sudden ‘change of mind’ about her original wedding dress.

The Princess also wore the same tiara the Queen wore for her wedding to Philip in 1947: the Queen Mary diamond-fringed tiara.

Designed from a necklace given to Queen Victoria in 1919, this precious heirloom was loaned to Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne on their wedding day.

On Beatrice’s big day, the Queen was photographed smiling at her beloved granddaughter; A friend later told the Daily Mail that the princess often spoke fondly about her grandmother.

They added that it was ‘clear’ there was a ‘strong bond’ between the two royal families and that the borrowed dress was ‘perfect’.

When Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in an intimate ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor, the Queen lent her own vintage dress as her wedding dress. She also wore the same tiara the monarch wore on her wedding day in 1947.

However, while the grandmother and granddaughter are said to have always been close, Their Royal Highnesses were forced to intervene in May 2006 after Beatrice began a relationship with 24-year-old Paolo Liuzzo, then a troubled playboy.

According to royal author Andrew Lownie, the late Queen “ordered” Beatrice to break up with her polo-playing American lover because of his shady past.

Liuzzo was charged with manslaughter after a drunken fight led to the death of a teenager while he was at college in Massachusetts.

The charge was later reduced to assault after Liuzzo, who attended the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, served a suspended sentence instead of prison time.

When Her Majesty learned of Liuzzo’s criminal complaint, he immediately called for a ‘secret summit’ with Beatrice’s parents and ordered his grandson to cut ties with Liuzzo.

He recalled: ‘The Queen was so worried a scandal would rock yet another young Royal that she ordered the Duke, Fergie and Beatrice to attend a secret summit with her to discuss the situation.’

On another occasion, Mr Lownie told how disgruntled Beatrice was when she failed to get into a carriage with the Queen at Royal Ascot in 1992 and Her Majesty appeared less than sympathetic to the young princess.

The princess, then four years old, ‘watched from the roadside as the Queen passed by’ and ‘shouted: “Can we come too?”

But the Queen ‘just kept waving’.

According to Ms James, Beatrice and Andrew’s body language during the Queen’s 93rd birthday celebrations shows that Andrew is ‘willing to support the idea of ​​having a high level of status within the royal Firm’.

He added: ‘The bond between the Queen and Princess must be strong, meaning the body language in this clip may be more about Andrew’s attempt to elevate his royal rank.’

But six years later Andrew’s status in the Royal Family has all but disintegrated.

The disgraced former Duke was arrested on his 66th birthday and detained by police officers during an 8am raid on his new home in Wood Farm. In events that have shaken the Royal Family, she became the first senior royal to be arrested in modern times.

However, during Queen Elizabeth’s lifetime, Andrew was believed to be her favorite child who “had never done anything wrong in her eyes”.

Andrew remained fiercely protective of his second son throughout his life, even after he was accused of sexual assault by Epstein’s late victim Virginia Giuffre in 2019.

Weeks after the Giuffre deal, Andrew accompanied the Queen to Prince Philip’s memorial service at London’s Westminster Abbey in March 2022.

‘In her final days, he kept her close and protected her as palace insiders continued to press for her complete exile,’ royal author Robert Jobson said in his book The Windsor Legacy.

Entrusting Andrew’s ‘support’ to a trusted aide, the monarch allegedly said: ‘You must remember, he is my son.’

Following his tragic death in September 2022, Andrew was said to have “lost his strongest ally”, while Charles wanted his brother to be “left alone”.