Beatrice and Eugenie to miss Easter church service after Mountbatten-Windsor scandal
Victoria Region And Timothy Sigsworth
London: Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will not join the royal family at the traditional Easter Sunday church service in Windsor, England, following the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that has engulfed their parents.
It is understood that the decision was taken with the “concurrence and understanding” of King Charles.
But the sisters are not left out and are expected to attend future family events.
The princesses found themselves at the center of the Epstein scandal, which led to the downfall of former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
Beatrice and Eugenie’s parents are mentioned hundreds of times in the tranche of Epstein emails released by the U.S. Department of Justice in February.
The files showed that just five days after Ferguson was released from prison for child sex crimes, he took his daughters, then ages 19 and 20, to visit Epstein in New York. Epstein was placed under house arrest after serving 12 months in a Florida prison for encouraging a minor into prostitution.
The emails also show Mountbatten-Windsor sending photos of her daughters to Epstein in 2010 and 2011.
In a March 2010 email, Ferguson told Epstein that he was “waiting for Eugenie to come back from a fucking weekend.”
The files led to claims that the princesses were frozen by the royal family. It has been suggested that the King will not invite them to Ascot this summer, an event they have attended regularly for a long time.
However, after the files were published, the princesses became estranged from their parents and the royal family. They have not been seen with their parents since Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest in February and are not expected to attend high-profile events with the royal family in the near future.
While there are no allegations of wrongdoing about the princesses, they are said to be devastated by the allegations regarding their father.
King Charles had previously signaled support for his nephews and allowed them to walk with the royal family at Sandringham, even after stripping his brother of his title and honour.
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office amid accusations that she shared confidential information with Epstein while serving as Britain’s trade envoy.
Thames Valley Police are assessing allegations in the Epstein files that the former prince sent sensitive government emails to pedophile financiers from 2001 to 2011.
It was also reported that the police may expand their investigation to evaluate possible corruption crimes. Mountbatten-Windsor always denied injustice.
The former duke left the Royal Lodge earlier this year after 3 million documents related to him released by the US Department of Justice further exposed his connections to Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor appears several times in the documents, including footage showing him kneeling over an unidentified woman at what appears to be Epstein’s New York mansion.
The files also revealed that Ferguson called Epstein his “great friend,” apologized for his public criticism of him, and begged him for money.
Last week, he was stripped of his title as Honorary Freeman of the City of York, while many charities cut ties with him and six companies affiliated with him began to close down.
Earlier this month, Eugenie resigned as patron of Anti-Slavery International, a charity she had been involved with since 2019.
The princesses have not publicly responded to the Epstein files or the previous allegations against their parents.
Meanwhile, the King and Queen will attend the traditional Easter Matins ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, where they will be joined by other members of the family, followed by a private lunch at Windsor Castle.
The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children are also expected to attend. Last year they spent the bank holiday in Norfolk with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Telegraph, London
Support is available on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
Take notes directly from our foreign country reporters about things that make headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What’s on in the World Newsletter.
