Royal Insider Reveals How Prince William and Kate Middleton May Treat Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie After Epstein Files Scandal

They have long hovered at the edges of royal life, smiling dutifully at weddings and appearing at Christmas walks, visible but never quite central. But now, as explosive new Jeffrey Epstein-related documents resurface, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are being dragged back into a scandal the Palace has spent years trying to contain.

And this time, the questions are not just about Prince Andrew.

They are about what his daughters may have known, and whether Prince William and Kate Middleton will decide that the York sisters are simply too heavy a burden for a monarchy already fighting for its future.

Prince William and Kate Middleton may soon face a decision about how, and whether, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie fit into the royal picture going forward, after fresh reporting renewed scrutiny of Prince Andrew’s long and damaging ties to Epstein and what his family may have known or done around the edges.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said the Prince and Princess of Wales would likely find it easy to keep their distance, because the relationship has never appeared especially close.

According to the Daily Mail, the latest tranche of Epstein documents has prompted renewed focus on how much the Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson’s daughters knew about their parents’ continued association with the disgraced financier, even after his 2008 conviction.

The report highlights an email Epstein sent in 2015, in which he boasted to a friend that Beatrice “liked” him.

It also alleges Beatrice was involved in efforts to manage the fallout, including advising her mother on how to repair relations with Epstein after Ferguson publicly referred to him as a paedophile while apologising for accepting financial help from him in a 2011 interview.

The Mail further reports that Beatrice played a role in the lead-up to Prince Andrew’s 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, widely seen as worsening the royal family’s crisis over his friendship with Epstein and the allegations made by Virginia Giuffre, which Andrew has denied.

A Hardening Line Around 'The Firm'

Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail that the situation could ultimately require William’s attention, particularly given the monarchy’s slimmed-down structure, which leaves little room for reputational risk.

He warned that family proximity, even without proven wrongdoing, can quickly become politically and publicly toxic, adding:

“The fact that Beatrice, when 20 and Eugenie, aged 19, visited Epstein in Florida just after his release from prison with their rapacious mother, is alarming. They must have known who they were visiting and how inappropriate this was.”

The words are stark, and they land heavily.

Fitzwilliams also pointed to emails cited in the reporting that, in his view, underline how unusually close Ferguson appeared to be to Epstein, claiming “she even told Epstein of Eugenie's 's*******' weekend.'”

He added that being mentioned in the files does not itself prove wrongdoing, but the overall picture may influence how senior royals respond.

At the centre of that response is William, the future king who has repeatedly been described as focused on protecting the monarchy’s future and far more willing than previous generations to draw clear, even painful, boundaries. Fitzwilliams continued:

“William, it is reported, may well take a hard line when he becomes king.”

The Mail report also outlines a possible legal escalation, referencing “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor being arrested and very possibly put on trial.”

That scenario remains hypothetical in the piece and is attributed to Fitzwilliams discussing what could happen if police inquiries intensify. Still, the mere possibility reinforces a chilling concern that the York name could become even more radioactive.

If matters worsen, Fitzwilliams suggests the institution may feel compelled to distance itself from any York-linked presence, no matter how personally devastating that might be behind closed doors.

Not Close And Not Likely To Become Closer

Even before the latest Epstein-related reporting reignited scrutiny, William’s relationship with Beatrice and Eugenie has often been described as polite but far from intimate.

The Daily Mail references long-running rumours of tension, including a claim about William’s view of Beatrice’s former boyfriend, Dave Clark.

According to Fitzwilliams, William regarded Clark as indiscreet, and the fallout was felt within the family. The report says William did not invite Clark to his 2011 wedding, calling it “a decision that hurt Beatrice very much.”

That detail now takes on renewed significance.

In a family where loyalty and discretion are currency, perceived lapses can linger. In royal life, proximity is not merely about affection, it is about trust, judgment, and the ability to weather storms without adding to them.

Fitzwilliams is blunt about what that emotional and strategic distance could mean in practice:

“William and Catherine do not appear to have close ties with the sisters and would probably not miss them.”

The Mail contrasts William’s cooler stance toward the York sisters with his well-documented closeness to Zara Tindall, often described as steady, discreet, and dependable.

In that comparison, a pattern emerges. After years of family rupture, public scandal, and the seismic departure of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Prince of Wales appears to value reliability over sentiment.

If that is the case, the York sisters may find themselves on the outside looking in.

Eugenie’s Sussex Link And A Narrowing Path

While Beatrice is portrayed as navigating the York fallout more quietly, Eugenie’s position carries an added layer of complexity.

The Daily Mail states that “Eugenie is notably close to Harry,” noting that this relationship once fuelled speculation she could act as a bridge between the Sussexes and the wider Royal Family.

Fitzwilliams suggests that the possibility has faded:

“At one time it was thought that she had a role to play in helping reconciliation between the Royal Family and the Sussexes.”

If renewed scandal tightens around the York name, that informal diplomatic role becomes harder to sustain and easier to abandon.

For William’s inner circle, the calculation may be brutally simple. Fewer risks. Fewer complications. Fewer shadows.

The Harsher View And The Only Route Back

While Fitzwilliams focuses on what William might do as a future king, Daily Mail columnist Amanda Platell adopts a far firmer tone about what she believes Beatrice and Eugenie should do now.

She argues that their reputations risk being defined by association and that silence may no longer protect them.

Platell writes that the sisters may be “completely innocent” of wrongdoing, but contends that the only way to separate themselves from the scandal would be to publicly distance themselves from their parents and align with Epstein’s victims.

It is a moral argument, not a legal one. But in today’s relentless media climate, morality and optics often move faster than courtrooms.

For the monarchy, this is not simply about family feeling. It is about survival. And in an era when headlines can harden into reputational scars overnight, association alone can prove politically explosive.

For William and Kate, the choice may ultimately come down to clarity over sentiment. Safeguard the Crown’s future, or carry the weight of continued association with a scandal that refuses to fade.