Princess Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie have been left ‘bitterly disappointed’ after being told they would not be welcome at Royal Ascot this summer because of their parents’ links to Jeffrey Epstein, royal sources have revealed.
Traditionally the two siblings would have attended the colourful gathering at the famous Berkshire racecourse, which is one of the highlights of the summer season, and would have been pictured sitting in the Royal Box with other senior royals.
Officials at Ascot describe the event – and in particular the spectacle of the King, Queen and members of the royal family in horse drawn carriages parading along the course – as a ‘timeless passage through heritage, memory and pride’.
In the past both Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, have been regulars at Ascot each summer and have been pictured with their royal cousins enjoying the fun day out on several occasions, but this year there will be no shared merriment – with the sisters feeling they are being made to pay for their father’s sins and being forced to lie low.
One royal source told the Daily Mail: ‘The York girls have been informed they can’t be there this year,’ while another source was even more direct: ‘Ascot is out of the question. The royals have been told they can’t be photographed with the girls for the rest of the year.’
Friends say the sisters have been ‘left drained’ by the bitter snub, which comes after both were named extensively in emails written by convicted sex offender and financier Jeffery Epstein, who committed suicide in a New York jail in 2019.
But there is also embarrassment due to the fact their parents – Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor the former Duke of York and his ex wife and the girls’ mother Sarah Ferguson – have also been linked to Epstein.
Last year, both girls and their mother appeared at Royal Ascot, with Princess Beatrice and Sarah Ferguson both there for the opening day.
Princess Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie have been left ‘bitterly disappointed’ after being told they would not be welcome at Royal Ascot this summer
Traditionally the princesses would have attended the colourful gathering at the famous Berkshire racecourse, pictured on Day 2 in 2024, which is one of the highlights of the summer
On Day 3 – Ladies Day – Beatrice was with her husbandm, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, for a second time.
While on day 4, Sarah, Eugenie and her husband, James Brooksbank, attended. Whereas on the last day it was just Eugenie and her husband.
Underlining the pageantry and history of the event, King Charles and Queen Camilla attended every day, while Prince William only appeared once, with his wife Kate pulling out at the last minute.
According to Palace insiders, The Prince and Princess of Wales have already said that they will not attend ‘if any member of the York family are at Ascot this year’.
The source close to the York family said: ‘They’re deeply disappointed. They feel they’re being punished for their parents’ past actions, and that’s very difficult to accept.’
Excluding the siblings on this occasion is part of broader effort to keep the princesses away from public royal events for the foreseeable future – and both have only been seen briefly since their father’s arrest last month.
Eugenie and Beatrice were spotted in London a few days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested for misconduct in public office at his new home in Sandringham.
He was held for 11 hours before being released under investigation by Thames Valley Police.
Andrew’s arrest came after the US DOJ released millions of Epstein-related files in January, including emails appearing to show Andrew forwarding confidential reports to the convicted sex offender while serving as Britain’s trade envoy, a position he left in 2011 after being linked to Epstein.
Privately, the impact has been painful, with one Palace insider telling the Daily Mail: ‘Beatrice has taken it the hardest, she’s been completely blindsided by everything that’s happened.
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie arrived at Ascot in 2017 with the Royal Family despite a late night out at the V&A Soirée the night before
‘Every new Epstein development feels like another blow. Just when they think things might finally settle down, something else emerges.’
Neither woman has been accused of any wrongdoing and both are trying to focus on their young families and distance themselves from their parents, in particular from their father’s troubles which have left them mortified.
The girls thought they had managed to avoid being tarred with the ‘Epstein brush’ after being invited by King Charles to Sandringham last Christmas for the traditional church service.
Although Eugenie and Beatrice were all smiles with their husbands, Prince William and Kate’s body language towards them was clearly cold and Mike Tindall – husband of their cousin Zara – was the only one who stopped to talk to them.
Royal Ascot started in 1825, the first year a carriage drawn procession was held, becoming a particular favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth.
John Warren, the late Queen’s racing adviser, once described how the ‘Queen was unbelievably knowledgeable’ about horse racing and would read the Racing Post cover to cover.
In 2013 she made history when her filly, Estimate, won the Gold Cup, making her the first reigning monarch to do so. In total over her reign she had 24 winners.
Speaking of the Gold Cup win, Mr Warren said:’ When she passed the post, it brought the house down. The Queen was really, really excited. It was a day to remember.’
The princesses are said to have been left drained by the fallout of their parents Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson’s friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein
After the Queen died, King Charles III and Queen Camilla took up the reigns and in 2023 he made his first appearance as monarch in the Royal Procession.
The same year Desert Hero, a horse bred by the Queen, won the King George V stakes giving Charles his first Ascot winner.
Mr Warren said: ‘To actually have a winner in the King’s first year was quite remarkable. The King welled up, tears in his eyes, and the Queen burst into tears.’
