Beatrice and Eugenie have been thrust into the royal limelight of late. Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s daughters have both recently got married ‒ to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank respectively ‒ and Eugenie has announced that she is expecting a baby. In their own way they have become symbols of hope in what has been a difficult few years for the Firm ‒ given the scandal surrounding Andrew’s relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and also Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s exit from the royal scene.
They are both very close to their grandparents ‒ the Queen and Prince Philip ‒ and the sisters arguably have family heartache to thank.
Tom Quinn, author of ‘Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir’, claims the Queen “adores” Beatrice and Eugenie as she sees “something of her own relationship as a child with Princess Margaret”.
This will likely be a love that brings a double-edged sword for Her Majesty as the devotion she has for the York sisters reminds her of Margaret, who passed away in 2002.
Another link, of course, is that before the Abdication Crisis the Queen was a Princess herself and never expected to rule.
Her father, who went on to be King George VI when Edward VIII walked away from the throne, was the Duke of York ‒ meaning that the Queen was a York sister herself, in her younger years.
Margaret died at the age of 71, just three days after the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s ascension to the throne.
The Queen and her sister had always been close, despite Margaret’s infamous party antics.
Mr Quinn was speaking on Channel 5 documentary ‘Beatrice and Eugenie: Pampered Princesses?’ ‒ which aired this month.
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“Again, Fergie said they had three sets of manners: One was for her, one was for when they were out and the third was when they were with the Queen.”
Although the parallels between Beatrice, Eugenie, Margaret and the Queen are clear for all to see, royal commentator Angela Levin has another theory.
Ms Levin, who penned a bestselling biography of Prince Harry in 2018, argues: “It’s always very difficult for children to see their parents split up.
“And I think perhaps the Queen even felt more maternal towards them – they’d had a very hard time.”
Beatrice was just three years old while Eugenie was days away from celebrating her second birthday when their parents, Andrew and Sarah, announced they were separating in 1992.
When their divorce was finalised in 1996, Beatrice was seven and Eugenie was six.
The two have had to deal with various scandals associated with both their mother and father over the years.
However, the way they have got through it with dignity intact has won them admirers in royal circles.
