Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will not be attending the Royal Family’s traditional Easter Sunday church service at Windsor Castle, a palace source has confirmed.
The daughters of disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah ‘Fergie’ Ferguson will instead be making “alternative arrangements”, with the King’s agreement.
It is understood the sisters’ presence at the annual gathering alongside senior royals would “overshadow proceedings”, The Times reported.
King Charles III, Queen Camilla and other members of the royal family are expected to attend the Easter Matins service at St George’s Chapel.
Ex-Prince Andrew and Fergie have not been invited amid their continued ostracism from public life following the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The York sisters have arguably borne the brunt of that exclusion, with reports they have also been barred from attending Royal Ascot this year.
Beatrice, 37, is expected to spend Easter with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 42, and their daughters, Sienna, four, and Athena, one- despite ongoing whispers about their marriage following the release of the files.
Meanwhile, Eugenie, 36, will likely celebrate with her husband, Jack Brooksbank, and their sons, August, five, and Ernest, two.
The sisters have attended the Easter Sunday service since childhood and were present with the wider family as recently as last year.
King Charles is said to remain fond of his nieces and is understood to be keen to protect their titles as granddaughters of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Though Beatrice and Eugenie were named alongside their parents in the Epstein files, the mention does not indicate any wrongdoing.
However, Prince William is believed to be taking a firmer approach behind the scenes, with claims he asked the sisters to undergo a financial audit- a request they reportedly declined.
It is understood the future King wanted to examine any potential links to their parents’ business dealings, particularly those tied to the Middle East.
“I think they (Beatrice and Eugenie) were asked if they would have their material audited by William, and they refused to do so, which doesn’t send out very encouraging signs,” royal biographer Andrew Lownie said on his podcast, The Lownie Report.
“We know they were pretty firmly entwined [with their parents].”
Meanwhile, another palace insider told the Mail UK that William “has the Spencer paranoia gene”.
His caution is said to extend beyond finances- and into the sisters’ personal lives.
In particular, it has been reported that the father-of-three “hated” Beatrice’s former boyfriend of 10 years, Dave Clark, despite initially introducing the pair.
William is understood to have met the American businessman at St Andrew’s University before introducing him to Beatrice at a 2006 party hosted by Pierce Brosnan’s son, Sean.
But tensions appeared to surface in 2011 when William and Catherine reportedly left Dave off the guest list for their wedding.
A source told the Daily Mail the rift was allegedly due to Dave’s “indiscreetness”.
The couple split in 2016, and two years later, Beatrice began dating Italian aristocrat Mapelli Mozzi- with whom William is said to get along reasonably well.
Despite the speculation, insiders insist the bond between the cousins remains intact.
“They would all play together with he and his brother joking ‘Oh look, here comes Queen Bea’ when they would see each other and because she was high up the line of succession back in the day,” the source said.
“So that affection has stretched to their husbands as well.”
However, that will not stop the future King from having to “take a hard line” with his cousins if necessary, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said.
“There is obvious sympathy for the predicament of the sisters; mention in the files does not denote wrongdoing,” he said.
“The King reportedly regards their work-life balance, where they both do some charitable work alongside their careers and families but are not working royals, as admirable.
“William, it is reported, may well take a hard line when he becomes king. It depends on how affected the Royal Family is by what happens subsequently.”
‘ 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 ’
