Why Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Eugenie can’t escape the taint of family scandal

The scandal surrounding Andrew is one of his own making, but it has had a profound impact on his immediate family: his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and their two daughters.

Mrs Ferguson, 66, He followed his own connections with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

She will now leave the Royal Lodge and make her own living arrangements, but it is believed she will not be moving to Sandringham in Norfolk with Andrew.

Princess Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, will retain their titles because they are the daughters of a monarch’s son.

But questions also arose about whether they could extricate themselves from their parents’ mess.

Ms. Ferguson, who also lost the title of duchess when Andrew renounced his title as Duke of York a few weeks ago, had until recently avoided the line of fire of the controversy around Epstein.

But in September many charities have named him patron or ambassador After an email emerged in 2011 calling Epstein his “best friend” and appearing to apologize for his public criticisms of her.

The only charity she is currently affiliated with is her own foundation, Sarah’s Trust.

There used to be a “Duchess collection” consisting of a range of products, including tea and biscuit sets, to raise money for charity, but the website for this collection is no longer active.

Reasons for this include supporting vulnerable communities, including “forgotten women” around the world.

BBC News made several attempts to contact the charity to ask whether such a purpose was appropriate given Ms Ferguson’s ties to Epstein. However, the phone number listed is not recognized and emails bounce.

We escalated this matter to the Charity Commission, who said that someone from their team had contacted the charity to remind them to keep their contact details up to date.

Apart from her philanthropy, Ms Ferguson has several business ventures and has written several non-fiction children’s books about Queen Victoria and her own memoirs.

According to the press release made in Bookseller, the last children’s book, which was expected to be published on October 9, is now available for sale on Amazon as of November 28.

Waterstones booksellers told BBC News that the publication date for Flora And Fern: Kindness Along The Way has been “moved” and does not have a new publication date.

Its publisher, New Frontier Publishing, did not respond to a request for comment.

But an industry source told the BBC that delaying the broadcast “would be a completely sensible decision”.

Ms. Ferguson’s other publicists remained tight-lipped when asked whether they planned to cut ties with her.

Harper Collins, which has published two books, the most recent of which is The Most Intriguing Woman, which will be released in 2023, declined to comment but stated that both books remain in print and are available.

“Publishers don’t tend to let authors go, they just don’t quietly renew contracts,” said Neill Denny, editor of the book trade news website Book Brunch.

While there has been speculation that Ms. Ferguson or Andrew might write a tell-all memoir, “I think publishers will be cautious about taking on the former Duchess of York’s story,” he said.

As for Beatrice and Eugenie, they retained their title of princess; This will be a small victory for Andrew, who wants to protect his daughters even at his own expense.

Both appear to have fled England this week.

Beatrice was photographed at an investment summit in Saudi Arabia. His family has long-standing connections to the Middle East and he also recently appeared in a promotional photo. for UAE bank.

Meanwhile, Eugenie was photographed with friends in Paris.

Although there was some sympathy for the princesses, they too could not completely avoid the scandals around their parents.

A photo resurfaced earlier this week Epstein shows Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein At Beatrice’s 18th birthday party in Windsor.

The Telegraph also reported that a leaked email to Mr. Epstein’s lawyer in England suggested that Ms. Ferguson and the princesses visited Mr. Epstein in New York after he was released from prison in 2009.

A source close to Ms Ferguson insisted that neither she nor her daughters remembered any such visit: according to the newspaper.

Beatrice in 2018 she told British Vogue in a joint interview with her sister: “We are young women trying to make careers and build personal lives, and we are also princesses, and we do all this in the public eye.”

The princesses do not work in the royal family and both have jobs – Beatrice founded the consultancy BY-Eq, while Eugenie works at the Hauser & Wirth gallery.

Both are married with children; Beatrice divides her time between her property in the Cotswolds and an apartment at St James’s Palace. Eugenie lives between Portugal and an estate on the grounds of Kensington Palace.

On Friday night, royal sources said the late Queen’s corgis would still be cared for by Andrew, Sarah and their daughters, but it is unclear whose house they will live in.

Both princesses have philanthropic efforts. Eugenie founded the anti-slavery collective, a charity whose focus includes victims of sex trafficking. According to the latest available information, it raised £1.5 million in donations last year but has distributed very little so far, turning over £1.3 million.

BBC News contacted the charity for comment in light of the recent controversy surrounding Andrew and Epstein, but it did not respond.

At the end of this tumultuous week, there are still many unanswered questions.

Family time will clearly be more difficult now. Andrew is moving to Norfolk, which means he is no longer close to his daughters and grandchildren.

Ms Ferguson, who maintained a close relationship with Andrew and lived with him at the Royal Lodge despite their divorce in 1996, will also now move, although it is unclear where she will move.

He sold his Belgravia flat, which he had recently bought for £4.2 million. It is still listed in his name on the land registry, but his spokesman confirmed to BBC News that the sale had gone through.

There is also a question mark about Christmas.

It was previously announced that Andrew would be excluded from the traditional royal family gathering at Sandringham over Christmas.

It is also unclear where Ms. Ferguson will be.

But either way, princesses will face a choice between spending it with their parents, in-laws or the wider Royal Family.

What they decide may be telling. With the York brand now tarnished beyond repair, who they choose to celebrate with could be a sign of who they’ll collaborate with in the future.