Prince Andrew's very public scandal,
their parents' messy divorce, and fears of being ostracized from
the royal family. Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have faced some serious struggles.
Princess Beatrice is happily married to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, with whom she welcomed daughter
Sienna in 2021. But before the princess started dating "Edo," she was reportedly smitten with a
man named Dave Clark. Beatrice and Clark dated for nearly a decade, and she even moved across
the Atlantic to live with him in New York. They ended up calling it quits in 2016.
It would seem that the relationship abruptly came to end because the pair were on totally
different pages. Rumor has it that Beatrice was ready to take the next step in their
relationship and get engaged, but Clark wasn't. A source told Express in 2016,
As a result, Beatrice and Clark broke up. At the time, a friend told the Daily Beast,
To add insult to injury, Clark met the woman he would later marry just
two months after splitting up with Princess Beatrice, per Page Six.
The November 2021 christening of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brookbank's son, August,
was tragically overshadowed when Jack's father, George,
died. George had reportedly been ill for quite some time, and he sadly passed away a few days
before his grandson was christened. At the time, a source told the Daily Mail,
To support Jack and Eugenie at a difficult time, the queen attended August's christening,
even though she was being extra cautious about COVID, per People.
Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice's parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson,
split in 1992 when the sisters were still young. As a result,
Beatrice and Eugenie's childhood's were greatly affected by the breakdown of their
family. In a Channel 5 documentary about the princesses, royal expert Tom Quinn explained,
"And I think that was quite probably damaging in a subtle but kind of long-lasting way."
The most difficult part of the breakup for princesses was likely the fallout between their
mother and the rest of the royal family. While Sarah and Andrew have always remained cordial,
the rest of the royal family has reportedly been less accommodating. According to the Express,
Sarah's frequent tabloid exploits soured her relationship with the royals, which put her
daughters in a tough position. In many ways, Beatrice and Eugenie were forced to live two
very different lives, caught between the formal royal family, and their often informal mother.
In Channel 5 documentary "When Fergie Met the Monarchy," royal expert Tom Quinn explained,
"The wild side of them can come out when they're with Sarah, and it certainly does."
When they were younger, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were always close with
their cousins, Prince William and Prince Harry. The close relationship stemmed from
the bond their mothers, Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson, shared. Diana and Sarah were
very close friends, and their children spent a lot of time together. Sadly,
that reportedly came to an immediate halt when Sarah released her book, "My Story," in 1996,
in which she claimed to have developed plantar warts after wearing Diana's shoes.
In her 2022 book, "The Palace Papers," Tina Brown claimed that Diana supposedly plotted to banish
Eugenie and Beatrice from interacting with her sons. Tragically, Diana died in 1997, before ever
making peace with Ferguson. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar in 2007, Ferguson said,
After Prince Andrew's association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was brought to light,
life changed drastically for Beatrice and Eugenie. In 2022, Andrew settled a lawsuit
with Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that the prince had sexually assaulted her when she was
just 17-years-old. As a result, it was announced that Prince Andrew would step away from his royal
duties. It was also rumored that Prince William and the then-Prince Charles made the decision as
they were next in line for the throne, per the Daily Mail. Despite the very public scandal,
Andrew's daughters stood by his side, with a source telling the Express,
The tension allegedly stemmed from fears that Charles would completely
ostracize Eugenie and Beatrice when he became king, which didn't happen. Still,
it's clear that Prince Andrew's legal troubles had a devastating effect on his children.
Prince Andrew's very public fall from grace deeply affected both of his daughters, but it's been
reported that Beatrice is especially close with her father. In late 2019, a source told Us Weekly,
Beatrice and Eugenie reportedly threw their unwavering support behind their father in the
face of his problems. However, Princess Beatrice has allegedly struggled to watch her father be
ostracized for his official role within the royal family. A body language expert told the Mirror
that Beatrice appeared to be overcome with emotion watching her father escort Queen Elizabeth II down
the aisle at Prince Philip's memorial in 2021. It would seem that the queen's rare public showing of
familial affection in the face of public scrutiny was extremely meaningful for the princess.