A royal reporter has revealed the surprising moment Princess Beatrice inserted herself into a private meeting with her mother, Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson – and the impression it left has lingered for years.
Speaking on The Times podcast The Royals with Roya and Kate, royal editor Kate Mansey recalled arriving for a scheduled meeting with 66-year-old Ferguson, only to discover the 37-year-old Princess was already there.
“It was talks about talks… So I’d gone to seen Sarah Ferguson, as arranged, to talk about the possibility of doing an interview, and to my great surprise, Princess Beatrice was there,” Mansey told co-host Roya Nikkhah.
“And not just that – she wanted a sit in on the meeting too.”
Mansey said she was initially excited by the unexpected addition, believing she may also be able to interview Beatrice – but quickly realised the Princess had a very different role in mind.
According to Mansey, Beatrice quietly took notes throughout the meeting, closely observing her mother and stepping in to clarify her points – effectively acting as an intermediary.
“She (Beatrice) sat and she took notes. I thought it was fascinating how she interacted, she’s super smart, she was kind of analysing everything Sarah Ferguson was saying and kind of clarifying,” she said.
“Fergie was like: ‘I want to come across as this, and I’d like to be known as this, and if we do it I want it to be done like this, and I want you to talk about my work over here with this charity’.
“I was taking it all in, she’s hitting me with this barrage of thoughts and ideas, and it was coming through Beatrice, to the side.
“She (Beatrice) was analysing. ‘You know just to clarify what mummy’s saying…’ She was very organised, she was very thoughtful and processing her mother’s thoughts in real-time and acting as a conduit.”
Mansey said the moment has taken on new significance in hindsight, following the fallout from the Epstein files and the arrest of Beatrice’s father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, 66.
“That is interesting now of course, because we wonder how close she (Beatrice) was to any of the business deals that Sarah Ferguson or perhaps her father (Andrew) was doing at the time,” she said.
She also pointed to previous reports regarding Andrew’s infamous 2019 Newsnight interview, indicating that Beatrice was allegedly present behind the scenes during initial discussions with the team.
“We know from people who worked on that infamous Newsnight interview, that the ‘talks about talks’ as journalists often call them… that happened at the palace, with Andrew, with Amanda Thirsk, his then private secretary, and the Newsnight team – Beatrice was there taking notes,” she said.
Elsewhere in the discussion, Mansey and Nikkhah raised questions about the future of Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie within the monarchy, as the wider fallout continues to unfold.
“I think it’s a watching brief from the palace… Who knows how long this (the fallout from the Epstein files) will go on for?” Nikkhah said.
“You get the sense that they (the Royal Family) want to see which way this story will go, and what else might come out, and a decision will then be taken.”
Mansey agreed, suggesting the palace’s response could signal a broader shift in how the monarchy operates moving forward.
“How the palace handles this Beatrice and Eugenie ‘problem’ will be a sign for how they’re going to proceed with the monarchy, and that kind of stripped-down royal family,” she said.
“It does matter how the palace reacts to this.”
Nikkhah said the situation has cast serious doubt over the sisters’ future roles, despite previously being called upon to support the Royal Family when needed.
“I sense that won’t happen again. And it’s shows a sort of ruthlessness from the royal family,” she said.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.skynews.com.au ’
