Sarah Ferguson ‘never approved’ of Princess Beatrice and Edo Mapelli Mozzi’s marriage, according to royal author Andrew Lownie – and now, the York sisters’ husbands are ‘pushing for their wives to distance themselves’ from their scandal-hit parents.
The daughters of disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Fergie have mostly sought to stay out of the public limelight following the ensuing fallout of their parents’ controversial ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
According to Mr Lownie, both Beatrice and Eugenie are publicly ‘playing down their contact’ with Andrew and Fergie ‘as they realise it is toxic for their careers and public reputation’.
However, Edo, who wed Beatrice in July 2020, alongside Jack Brooksbank, who tied the knot with Eugenie in 2018, are said to feel strongly that a separation between the princesses and their disgraced parents should be enforced.
‘The husbands don’t want their reputations and earnings tainted by association with Andrew and Sarah and are pushing for their daughters to distance themselves from their parents,’ Mr Lownie, writer of bestselling book Entitled: The Rise And Fall Of The House Of York, told the Daily Mail.
He added: ‘Both husbands’ families are appalled by the activities of the former Duke and Duchess of York. A complication is the latter themselves never approved of Edo so no love lost there.’
In recent months, rumours have swirled that Beatrice and Edo’s relationship is on the rocks – after revelations about Andrew and Epstein’s friendship is said to have forced a ‘distance’ between the couple.
Sarah Ferguson ‘never approved’ of Princess Beatrice and Edo Mapelli Mozzi’s marriage, according to royal author Andrew Lownie – amid ongoing speculation that the couple’s marriage is on the rocks
Mr Lownie told The Daily Mail: ‘Both husbands’ families are appalled by the activities of the former Duke and Duchess of York’
Beatrice was 31 when she exchanged vows with Edo during a small ceremony before 20 guests at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in the grounds of Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate.
While the former Duke of York, who has since been stripped of his royal titles and is under investigation for misconduct in public office, walked Beatrice down the aisle, Andrew was conspicuously absent from the official wedding portraits released by Buckingham Palace.
Instead, the late Queen and Prince Philip joined the newlyweds in their wedding photos, as Elizabeth made every effort to ensure that her granddaughter’s wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi was an occasion for the couple to remember.
The Queen lent Princess Beatrice the tiara that she wore at her own wedding and a vintage gown first worn to a glitzy film premiere almost 66 years ago.
It was an acknowledgement not only that lockdown had denied Beatrice the wedding-day fanfare enjoyed by her sister Eugenie and cousins William and Harry, but also of the distress of seeing her father’s reputation wrecked by his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
However, according to Lownie, Fergie, the former Duchess of York, did not feel particularly fond of Edo from the onset – prompting further questions about her and Andrew’s lesser involvement in the nuptials of their oldest daughter.
The royal author added that despite the actions of her shamed parents, both Beatrice and Eugenie feel a sense of ‘loyalty’ to their parents.
Mr Lownie added: ‘The daughters are walking a tightrope torn between residual loyalty to their parents and pressure from their husbands.
‘They also realise they need to keep in with Royal Family, petrified Charles will change their subsidised arrangements at St James’s and Kensington Palaces and that their titles may be removed. If so, bang go their lucrative earnings from the Middle East.’
‘The husbands don’t want their reputations and earnings tainted by association with Andrew and Sarah and are pushing for their daughters to distance themselves from their parents,’ Mr Lownie said
Mr Lownie added: ‘The daughters are walking a tightrope torn between residual loyalty to their parents and pressure from their husbands’
According to Mr Lownie, while relations become ‘fractured and complex’ with Andrew, the pre-existing ‘tripod’ that Sarah once boasted she shared with her two daughters remains somewhat intact.
‘There has been plenty of scandal over the years and the daughters have not cut themselves loose largely because they are cut from the same cloth and very much under the thumb of their mother,’ he added.
However, he noted that Eugenie’s relationship will likely have diminisehd with her mother amid the ensuing revelations about her ties to Epstein.
‘Relations with their father are particularly fractured and complex as daughters take on board each new disturbing disclosure about Andrew,’ he said.
‘It is unlikely Andrew will see his new grandchild except through Facetime.’
Eugenie and Jack’s third child was born on August 3 at a hospital in Lisbon weighing 6lb 9oz – with mother and baby said to be doing well.
However, the happy family news is in stark contrast to Andrew’s fall from grace over his friendship with convicted sex offender Epstein.
The controversy surrounding Beatrice and Eugenie’s shamed parents only intensified in the wake of the release of millions of documents connected to the billionaire financier, who died by suicide in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The file dump included a disturbing photograph of Andrew crouching on all fours over a female lying on the floor, as well as multiple damning revelations about his and Fergie’s association with the man convicted of soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.
In recent months, rumours have swirled that Beatrice and Edo’s relationship is on the rocks – after revelations about Andrew and Epstein’s friendship is said to have forced a ‘distance’ between the couple
According to Lownie, Fergie, the former Duchess of York, did not feel particularly fond of Edo from the onset. Pictured: Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Edo in 2019
It emerged that Andrew sent photographs of his daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice, to Epstein in two festive emails in 2011 and 2012, up to two years after the former prince previously claimed to have cut off all contact with Epstein.
Astonishing emails unearthed by The Mail on Sunday revealed Fergie was so desperate to cosy up to the convicted paedophile that ‘she was the first to celebrate’ his release from jail ‘with her two daughters in tow’.
The Daily Mail has also found an email from Epstein in 2015 where he told a friend not to worry about meeting Beatrice at an event in Mexico because she ‘liked’ him.
The fallout led to King Charles formally stripping Andrew of all his titles and forcing him out of Royal Lodge, with His Majesty’s younger brother being arrested on his 66th birthday by Thames Valley Police in an extraordinary moment for the monarchy.
It would have been an especially trying time for his daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, who retreated from public life as questions were raised about how much they knew about Andrew and Fergie’s dealings with Epstein.
On the same day that Andrew was held in police custody, Edo was spotted spending time in Palm Beach, Florida.
His trip to the US saw him visit the same area where Ferguson and the princesses dined with Epstein, just days after the end of his prison sentence for trafficking a minor for prostitution.
Snaps show him reclining outside the pink art deco Colony Hotel in Palm Beach and holding a glass of rosé at the Bellini restaurant on the rooftop of the Mr C Miami hotel.
He attended a talk at stylish interiors store Hive Home, popular with super-wealthy locals, and was spotted at an evening event at The Carriage House, an exclusive members’ club.
At one point, he visited the ultra-private Fisher Club, a gated island enclave with just 800 residents favoured by billionaires and A-listers such as Oprah Winfrey and Julia Roberts. One post – a video taken from behind – featured Edo sashaying theatrically along a Florida pavement.
Yet Edo’s decision to travel to the United States, albeit for work, instead of remaining by his wife’s side sparked speculation that their marriage was on the rocks.
One source told the Daily Mail: ‘Things haven’t been great for a while between them, but Beatrice has been determined to soldier on and forge a path through.
‘Beatrice is quite different from her sister. She really wants to almost naively see the good in people and will turn a blind eye to uncomfortable truths – that is why she was blind to her father’s behaviour, and the same is true of her belief in Edo.
‘She wants to stay together, but he seems more and more distracted by work and travel. Just when she needs him most, he’s been pulling away.’
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