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Remember when the Royal Family dealt with the catastrophe that was Megxit in 2020? Back then, while relations between the errant Prince Harry and his brother William were decidedly icy, there was one person the Duke of Sussex could still turn to – his cousin Princess Eugenie.
Eugenie and Harry were said to have “one of the most natural connections” of all the late Queen’s grandchildren, Omid Scobie revealed in his book Finding Freedom.
The pair became childhood friends as their mothers, Princess Diana and Sarah, the then Duchess of York, took them on family holidays together.
Eugenie was there for Harry as he forged a new path away from the Royal Family – a commitment she showed in 2022, when she and her husband Jack Brooksbank met up with Harry and Meghan in their new home of LA.
It was a signal perhaps, that the Princess was prepared to defy her cousin Prince William – who had, by that point, virtually washed his hands of Harry thanks to his jaw-dropping Oprah Winfrey interview.
Photos showed Eugenie and Jack enjoying dinner in Santa Barbara with Meghan and Harry – laughing and joking together with abandon.
The foursome arrived at the restaurant in the same silver Range Rover and had a whale of a time dining in a private, candlelit area.
However, fast-forward to 2026 when Eugenie is facing the greatest crisis of her royal life – thanks to the mounting pressure caused by her father’s ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein – and it appears her public display of support has not been reciprocated.
“Harry and Meghan are horrified at what’s happening to Beatrice and Eugenie, but are staying well away from it,” a source tells Woman’s Day, adding that Meghan in particular has “no interest in being associated with anyone tied to Epstein”.
“They have their own problems to focus on and the situation with the Yorks is so ugly they simply have no choice but to cut ties,” the insider continues.
While the development seems straightforward, the source suggests that it may not be quite so cut and dried.
For while Eugenie maintained good relations with Harry post-Megxit, for more than a year she and Beatrice have been trying to get back into the royal fold.
Our source says that in recent months relations between Beatrice, Eugenie, Harry and Meghan had cooled a little – with the York sisters attempting to gain favour with Prince William and Kate instead.
Indeed, the duo and their respective husbands joined Charles, Camilla, William and Kate during the Christmas Day walk to St Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham in 2025.
At that point, Beatrice and Eugenie’s attendance was a public signal that, despite public scrutiny and past controversies, they remained integrated within the core family events.
It’s something, our source says, Harry and Meghan weren’t too pleased about.
“Harry and Meghan were not happy to be dumped and Harry’s been very bitter about it, but it turns out to have been a blessing in disguise,” the insider explains.
“They’re also under no obligation to ‘reach out’ after being ghosted for the past year – the entire York family are a toxic mess.”
Alas, seems Eugenie has been “dumped” too. And not just by Harry.
Unfortunately for the York sisters, it seems that in light of recent events, Prince William is in no hurry for another reunion.
“It may fall to William to make a decision on the future of Beatrice and Eugenie. Neither are reportedly particularly close to him or to Catherine,” Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail, adding that it depends on what happens next with Andrew.
“There is currently the strong possibility of the cases which the police are assessing going forward and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor being arrested and very possibly put on trial.
“If this happens, it may be impossible for the royal family to move forward with any members of the York family attached to it,” he added.
“William and Catherine do not appear to have close ties with the sisters and would probably not miss them.”
