Despite cutting his disgraced brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor out of the royal family, King Charles has remained determined to shield his nieces, Beatrice and Eugenie, from the fallout.
Charles, 77, invited them to his annual Christmas festivities at Sandringham as the royal family put on a united front following the scandal surrounding Andrew’s ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
However, eagle-eyed fans on X/Twitter suggested his son, Prince William, might have had some reservations about the family reunion.
Footage of William, 43, leaving St Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas morning appeared to show the future King giving his cousin Eugenie, 35, the cold shoulder.
As she walked beside him, William avoided making eye contact with Eugenie and instead remained focused on fixing his scarf before catching up with the Princess of Wales and his daughter, Princess Charlotte, 10.
Fans on X recalled an earlier Christmas when William seemingly ‘scarfed’ his estranged sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, adding it’s his ‘go-to avoidance mechanism’.
Body language expert Judi James acknowledged the future King’s ‘suspicious history’ when it comes to using his scarf as a ‘bit of business’ to keep his attention diverted during ‘awkward’ royal run-ins.
Calling his behaviour an ‘act of distraction’, she told the Daily Mail: ‘It could be coincidental, but William usually does this when there is, what could become, an awkward moment in the offing.’
In the short clip, William can be seen walking alongside Eugenie and Beatrice without looking in their direction as his attention remains fixed on the scarf, Ms James said.
She recalled how William was ‘stung’ when his disgraced uncle Andrew tried to talk to him at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral last September.
The visibly uncomfortable interaction resulted in a ‘wary poker face’ from William, Ms James noted.
His ‘scarf behaviour’ seems to be a ‘polite’ tactic to manage any ‘social trickiness’, she continued.
‘As he gets to the bottom of the steps of the church, and catches us with Kate, we can even see a little tummy-pat of self-praise and, possibly, relief that he has landed in a very safe social spot again,’ Ms James concluded.
It comes as the Mail on Sunday reported that Eugenie has ‘cut off contact’ with Andrew in the wake of the scandal.
A source told the MoS the rift is like that between the Beckhams: ‘There is no contact at all, nothing. It’s Brooklyn Beckham level – she has completely cut him off.’
The last time royal fans clocked William’s scarf manoeuvre was in 2018 during the Duchess of Sussex’s first Christmas at Sandringham after marrying Prince Harry.
A video of the couple leaving the church appeared to show Meghan trying to engage William in conversation.
However, William didn’t catch her eye; instead, he was intent on fixing his scarf, which he continually fidgeted with before getting into the waiting car.
Some X users compared the moment to William’s behaviour last December, with one person writing: ‘William “scarfing” Eugenie?’ He blocked all contact with her by fiddling with his scarf here for ages!
‘In my opinion, it’s obviously his go-to avoidance mechanism for people he doesn’t like or trust!’
Another replied: ‘That was a distinct scarfing.’
It comes after Kensington Palace announced Prince William will undertake his first official visit to Saudi Arabia next month at the request of the UK government.
He is scheduled to travel to the Middle Eastern nation on Monday, February 9, before flying back to the UK on Wednesday, February 11.
A royal spokesman said: ‘His Royal Highness’ visit comes as the UK and Saudi Arabia celebrate growing trade, energy and investment ties, and as the two nations approach a century of diplomatic relations.’
While this is William’s first time travelling to Saudi Arabia, he has previously visited the neighbouring countries of the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
The Prince of Wales has had a busy start to 2026 as he carried out a series of engagements in Bristol this week.
William travelled to the city to promote its achievements in sustainability as a ‘driving force of innovation in the UK’ as he tested out a futuristic mobility scooter at a robotics laboratory.
He also met the finalists of his Earthshot Prize, the £1million environmental award he established in 2020, who developed an innovative filtration technology system that William had installed at his offices and homes.
The £199 Matter unit has been designed to stop microplastics contaminating oceans and waterways and was a finalist in last year’s competition.
The Prince was also shown Britain’s most powerful supercomputer, which is being used to develop new drugs to combat heart disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Earlier in the week, William joined the Princess of Wales for a joint engagement in Scotland, where they are the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay.
The royal couple visited Stirling and Falkirk to promote Scottish heritage traditions, as they took a curling lesson and spent the afternoon at a tartan-weaving studio before meeting fans during a walkabout.
William and Kate, who is in remission from cancer, left royal fans swooning after they noticed how the pair snuck in subtle romantic gestures while carrying out their engagements.
While chatting with well-wishers on a walkabout, the pair couldn’t keep their hands off one another, with William putting his arm around Kate to pose for a photo with a fan.
