Beatrice, Eugenie and Fergie were so close they had nickname but are now ‘cast adrift’ | Royal | News
The three were once inseparable (Image: Getty)
Not so long ago, Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice and Sarah Ferguson gave themselves a special nickname to celebrate their closeness. But now everything has changed.
After Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s public shaming, his ex-wife and two daughters find themselves adrift in uncharted waters. Since Andrew was stripped of his titles and honors in October last year, Sarah, Beatrice and Eugenie have taken very different approaches to the problem.
Eugenie, who lives in Portugal, is reportedly trying to distance herself from her scandal-plagued father, while Beatrice is more visibly standing by him.
Meanwhile, their mother completely disappeared from public view after her dismissal over the weekend amid rumors that she was hiding out at the home of their close friend Priscilla Presley.
Royal expert Emily Nash points out that this week is a far cry from the glory days of “Tripod.” Hello! Magazine podcast. Speaking about their closeness in a 2008 interview with The Telegraph, Eugenie said: “Anne, Bea and I call ourselves ‘Tripod’. They are my best friends in the world.”
“Now they find themselves on the edge and a little bit isolated from the rest of the Royal Family because everyone is waiting to see what else might come out of it,” Emily explains.
Beatrice, Sarah and Eugenie call themselves ‘Tripod’ (Image: Getty)
Read more: Sarah Ferguson calls for no fumbling as she still has ‘too much to lose’
Read more: ‘Beatrice is about to fall on her sword; ‘Andrew and Fergie should be ashamed’
A family friend told Daily Mail‘s royal editor, Rebecca English, said Beatrice and Eugenie were deeply disappointed in their mother. “Beatrice and Eugenie are lovely girls and they’ve been deprived of all this,” the source said. “I would actually go so far as to say that they are more disappointed in their mother than their father right now.
“The tripod collapsed. Obviously they will continue to support their parents, but they feel very let down.”
The three members of “The Tripod” have not been seen together in recent months. Sarah Ferguson’s whereabouts remain unclear at this time. According to a recent Page Six article, the King’s former sister-in-law is “virtually homeless” after both of her daughters refuse to house her in the homes they share with their husbands and children.
Although none of the allegations have been proven, Andrew’s arrest changed everything (Image: Getty)
Until February this year, Sarah was living in a wing of her ex-husband’s stately home: the Royal Lodge on the grounds of Windsor Home Park. She boasted that she and Andrew remained very close despite their separation in 1996, saying: “We are the happiest divorced couple in the world. We divorced each other, not each other.”
In Andrew Lownie’s explosive biography of Andrew and Sarah, Entitled, the former prince is even quoted as speculating about remarrying his ex. “I’m not ruling out the possibility of remarriage and I’m certainly not ruling it out,” Andrew reportedly said, adding: “If the opportunity arises, I don’t know what I would do as it’s not in the plan.”
While friends privately said Sarah had no desire to “put her head in that lion’s cage”, she spoke of her undying loyalty to him, telling the Daily Mail: “My duty is to him. I’m so proud of him. I’m there for him and always will be.”
Sarah and Andrew were evicted from Royal Lodge in February (Image: Getty)
But after losing the tenancy of the Royal Lodge, Sarah was not seen with her ex-husband. Speaking to the Mail about their relationship, royal commentator Richard FitzWilliams said: “The world can clearly see that the previous arrangement was designed to maximize Andrew’s private enjoyment of his public life.
“The procession of questionable associates, including the alleged Chinese spy for years, has spoken for itself. The public is horrified by them, politicians are unsettled, and there are almost certainly many more in the Epstein files.”
He added that finding a suitable home for Andrew was problematic enough despite the vastness of the Royal Family’s estates: “The problem is that the Welsh won’t want them as neighbours – who would? If there’s one thing William and Kate wouldn’t want, it’s Andrew and Fergie being close to each other.”
While Beatrice and Eugenie have also largely stayed away from the spotlight, many have raised questions about the royal siblings’ future. There is speculation that they may also lose their royal titles. While the investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor is still ongoing, the royal sisters remain uncertain about their uncertain future amid potentially life-changing decisions.
Andrew’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein cast a shadow over his family (Image: Getty)
Both Beatrice and Eugenie’s names were also included in documents released during the FBI’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
One of the published emails shows Sarah taking Beatrice and Eugenie, then aged 20 and 19, to “celebrate” Epstein’s release from prison in 2009. Neither princess has yet responded to any of these allegations. While the presence of their names in the files is not in itself an indication of any wrongdoing, there have been growing calls for the princesses to speak out about what they know about their parents’ relationship with the deceased sex offender.
Royal expert Jennie Bond told the Mirror: “I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, I think it would be best for both Beatrice and Eugenie to give up their royal titles and live a completely private life. So far they have not chosen to do this. They have also not revealed what they know about Epstein and his parents’ friendship with her.”
