The royal family is no stranger to scandal, but the latest bombshell from the Jeffrey Epstein files has plunged Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie into a personal nightmare they can’t escape. Sources close to the sisters reveal they are “deeply ashamed” and “emotionally drained” by revelations about their mother Sarah Ferguson’s intimate connections to the notorious pedophile, compounded by disturbing new photos of their father, former Prince Andrew, that have resurfaced in the massive U.S. Department of Justice document dump. This isn’t idle gossip or social media frenzy—it’s hard evidence from official emails and images that paint a picture of a family entangled in one of the most toxic scandals in modern history.
The Epstein files, part of an ongoing transparency push, have exposed layers of correspondence that show Sarah Ferguson—once the Duchess of York—maintaining a close, almost desperate relationship with Epstein long after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Emails suggest she viewed him as a “legend” and her “pillar,” turning to him for business advice even while he was behind bars. In one particularly jarring exchange from June 2009, just weeks before Epstein’s release from an 18-month sentence, Ferguson wrote asking for guidance on starting her charity, The Mothers Army, as a commercial venture. “I need to ask you how I start The Mothers Army company so it can be commercial, how do I do that?” she inquired, displaying a level of familiarity that has left observers stunned.
But the revelations go deeper, pulling Beatrice and Eugenie directly into the spotlight. Emails indicate that Ferguson brought her then-teenage daughters—Beatrice, 20, and Eugenie, 19—to lunch with Epstein in Miami just five days after his prison release in July 2009. At the time, Epstein was under house arrest, yet Ferguson allegedly coordinated the meeting, writing in an email: “It will be myself, Beatrice and Eugenie.” Royal experts are aghast, questioning how any parent could expose their children to a convicted sex offender so soon after his incarceration. “What kind of mother would take her daughters to Miami to have lunch with a convicted paedophile, a man who had come out of jail for that very crime only five days earlier?” one commentator asked on British television.
The sisters, now 37 and 35 respectively, are reportedly “horrified” and “mortified” by these disclosures. Insiders say Beatrice and Eugenie feel “duped” by both parents, having believed assurances that the Epstein connections were minimal and long in the past. The emotional toll has strained family relationships, with the princesses prioritizing their own families and careers while grappling with the shame. “They are frightfully embarrassed and mortified by their parents’ behavior,” a royal expert noted. “They were seen hugging a few months ago, and it was reported that Beatrice said to Eugenie, ‘We’re in this together, don’t forget that.’” The revelations have left them struggling to process the betrayal, with sources claiming they are “united and have always been emotionally supportive of each other” amid the fallout.
Adding to the humiliation is a crude remark Ferguson allegedly made about Eugenie in a 2010 email to Epstein. Waiting for her daughter to return home, Ferguson wrote: “Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a shagging weekend!!” The vulgar comment, made when Eugenie was just starting her relationship with now-husband Jack Brooksbank, has been branded “humiliating” and “appalling.” “How embarrassing for Eugenie,” one analyst said. “It’s not how any parent should behave.” The email underscores Ferguson’s casual, almost needy rapport with Epstein, where she confided personal details and sought his approval.
Ferguson’s ties to Epstein run even deeper. Emails show her congratulating him on the “birth” of a “baby boy” in one exchange, and in another, she appears to offer to introduce him to a “single” woman with a “great body” after his release. She referred to Epstein as “the brother I have always wished for” and expressed “deep regret” over negative press about him, even defending him by saying she “would not” call him a pedophile. In March 2011, Epstein complained about being labeled a pedophile in a newspaper, and Ferguson responded by protecting her “own brand” while distancing herself publicly. Yet, their correspondence continued, with Ferguson asking for financial help and business introductions, calling him her “pillar” and admitting she felt “traumatised and alone.”
The scandal has had immediate repercussions. Sarah’s Trust, the charity Ferguson founded, announced its closure for the foreseeable future shortly after the emails surfaced. A spokesperson claimed the decision had been “under discussion and in train for some months,” but the timing speaks volumes. Ferguson has remained silent on the revelations, but the damage to her reputation—and by extension, her daughters’—is profound.
Compounding the crisis are shocking new photos of Andrew from the Epstein files. One image shows the former prince on all fours, crouched over an unidentified woman lying on the floor, his hands on her stomach in what appears to be a playful or intimate pose. The photos, undated and redacted to protect identities, are believed to have been taken in Epstein’s New York townhouse. They add fuel to the fire of Andrew’s already tarnished image, following his 2019 BBC interview disaster, settlement with accuser Virginia Giuffre, and loss of royal titles in 2022. Emails also suggest Andrew shared sensitive trade reports from a 2010 Southeast Asia tour with Epstein, potentially breaching protocols, and invited him to Buckingham Palace for dinner.
For Beatrice and Eugenie, the double blow from both parents is “devastating.” The sisters have built their own lives—Beatrice as a vice president at tech firm Afiniti, married to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi with a young daughter Sienna, and Eugenie as director at Hauser & Wirth art gallery, married to Jack Brooksbank with sons August and Ernest. They’ve maintained low profiles, focusing on charity work like Beatrice’s dyslexia advocacy and Eugenie’s anti-slavery efforts. But the Epstein shadow looms large, forcing them to distance themselves while supporting each other. “They believed their father, and now it has all backfired,” a source said. “I know that Eugenie, especially, has found it very difficult.”
The York family—once the epitome of quirky royal resilience—now faces its darkest chapter. Andrew, stripped of titles and living in seclusion at Royal Lodge, remains a pariah. Ferguson, despite her cancer battles and public comebacks, is tainted by these associations. For Beatrice and Eugenie, the pain is personal: a legacy of embarrassment they didn’t choose, but can’t fully escape. As one expert put it, “This has been under discussion and in train for some months,” but for the princesses, the emotional closure may take much longer.
The revelations underscore a broader reckoning for those linked to Epstein. With over three million pages now public, the files continue to expose uncomfortable truths about power, privilege, and accountability. For the Yorks, the storm shows no sign of passing—leaving Beatrice and Eugenie to weather it with quiet dignity, far from the parents whose choices have cast such long shadows.
