The Princess of Wales‘s ‘frosty’ relationship with Princess Beatrice was visible long before the scandal of the Epstein Files unfolded, a body language expert has claimed.
When the two princesses attended Royal Ascot in 2017, footage captured Kate holding an animated conversation with Zara Tindall at the racecourse, while the Prince of Wales ‘chortled happily’ in the background with her husband, Mike.
Yet when Beatrice sought to ‘break into’ the group conversation, Kate, 44, went into ‘silent mode’ while William desperately tried to ‘form a barrier’ from his cousin, according to a body language expert.
Judi James told the Daily Mail: ‘Kate’s “acceptance” of Beatrice into her social group of three looks flimsy and even a little frosty here, hinting at a degree of distancing that pre-dated most of the recent strain of the Epstein scandal.’
It comes as both Beatrice, 37, and her sister, Princess Eugenie, 35, are said to have been left ‘blindsided’ by the recent decision to exclude them from this year’s Royal Ascot event.
Amid concerns about the unfolding scandal involving the House of York and their ties with Jeffrey Epstein, sources told The Mail on Sunday that Beatrice and Eugenie will not sit in the Royal Box, nor can they join senior royals for the Royal Procession.
Yet even in 2017, Britain’s future Queen appeared to be far from welcoming towards Beatrice when she attempted to partake in the ‘agreeable, tactile and enthusiastic’ chatter she was sharing with Zara.
Ms James explained: ‘We see Beatrice pop up in the gap between William and Mike, showing clear signals of expecting to break into their group. She laughs with Mike but there is an air of disruption rather than acceptance here now.
‘Kate seems to have stepped back slightly rather than leaning in to greet and engage with Beatrice, and her body language goes into “silent” mode, with no movement or signs of reaction now.’
The Princess of Wales’s ‘frosty’ relationship with Princess Beatrice was visible long before the scandal of the Epstein Files unfolded, body language expert Judi James has claimed
As a result of the Waleses’ ‘frostiness’ Beatrice eventually ‘appears to give up’ and slowly ‘backs out without any smiles or friendly break-away gestures, and also without any reciprocal grins or touches from the others,’ according to Ms James
At this stage, William appears to ‘touch his face and look at Kate’ with a facial expression that suggests he is hoping to ‘form a barrier with Beatrice,’ according to Ms James.
While Kate, renowned for her compassionate and welcoming nature, was previously ‘very active’ in engaging Mike Tindall into conversation, her friendliness drastically shifted towards her cousin-in-law.
As a result of the Waleses’ ‘frostiness’ Beatrice eventually ‘appears to give up’ and slowly ‘backs out without any smiles or friendly break-away gestures, and also without any reciprocal grins or touches from the others’.
‘There is the faint whiff of a failed networker now in the way Beatrice wanders off to appear to try to break into another group,’ she explained.
It comes after a royal expert suggested that the latest tranche of Epstein Files could place further strain on the already apparently uneasy relationship shared between the Prince and Princess of Wales and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Kate’s seeming reluctance to form a close bond with Beatrice will also no doubt have been worsened by the role the princess played in helping to set up her father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s car-crash Newsnight interview.
A BBC producer revealed that Princess Beatrice had attended a negotiation meeting with her father ahead of the interview in November 2019.
As well as attending a pre-production meeting with producer Sam McAlister, with a notebook and pen, Beatrice famously became Andrew’s ‘alibi’ during the interview when he claimed he was collecting her from a party at Pizza Express on the night he supposedly had sex with Ms Giuffre.
When Beatrice sought to ‘break into’ the group conversation, Kate, 44, went into ‘silent mode’ while William desperately tried to ‘form a barrier’ from his cousin, according to a body language expert
Kate’s seeming reluctance to form a close bond with Beatrice will also no doubt have been worsened by the role the princess played in helping to set up her father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s car-crash Newsnight interview
Meanwhile, the latest tranche of Epstein files also revealed that Beatrice helped advise her mother on how to placate Epstein after Fergie called him a paedophile while apologising for accepting a £15,000 bailout from the convicted sex offender in a 2011 interview.
While Kate has become more ‘cautious’ in her relations with both Beatrice and Eugenie in recent months, in 2017, Eugenie had seemingly struck up a rather close bond with her sister Pippa and even attended her wedding that year.
The following year, Pippa was in attendance at Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank. Beatrice, however, was not in attendance at Pippa’s wedding and little is known about the two’s relationship.
Ms James explained: ‘There have been signs that Kate’s relationship with Eugenie did thaw with time, while Beatrice’s relationship with Kate might actually have eroded over the same period.’
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams previously told the Daily Mail that it was ‘unsurprising’ Kate had become ‘cautious in her relations’ with the two sisters, following reports that both her and William are keen to keep them both at ‘arm’s length’.
He added: ‘Andrew’s alibi on Newsnight of celebrating Beatrice’s 13th birthday at the now infamous Pizza Express in Woking involved her in the Newsnight interview. Reports have indicated that she favoured it.
‘Catherine will have noted the problems the sisters face, no doubt with some sympathy, but will undoubtedly also be wary, given the sensitivity of their current situation.
‘Whatever the nature of the relationship between them, it is unlikely we will see them together with her very soon.’
In fact, this was not the first time a rather uncomfortable interaction was noted between Kate and Beatrice at a Royal Ascot event.
In June 2023, Kate and Beatrice travelled in the same horse and carriage, accompanied by their respective husbands, Prince William and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
Yet while the pair wore smiles as they waved confidently to crowds of well-wishers, video footage captured of their carriage ride also suggested an inherent ‘tension’ between the two princesses, according to body language expert Judi James.
Ms James told the Daily Mail: ‘Kate and Beatrice are forced into a rather difficult sitting position here. Face-to-face and knee-to-knee sitting creates an uneasy proximity and invasion of social space.
‘This is why you might expect them to produce some slightly overstated friendship rituals to overcome any inherent awkwardness.
‘Instead, they sit locked in poses of mutual tension here, with both pairs of hands clasped tightly in their laps, and their torsos hunched forward in a mirrored self-diminishing ritual that hints at low levels of inner confidence.’
Ms James added that despite Kate now serving as an integral part of the royal fold, there was ‘no exchange of glances and the two women appear to ignore each other in the moment’.
The move to apparently ban Beatrice and Eugenie, 35, from Ascot this year is said to have ‘completely blindsided’ the sisters, who are already reeling from the arrest of their father.
But the MoS understands that the move is part of a wider decision to exclude the princesses from all public-facing events for the foreseeable future.
Being excluded from Royal Ascot will come as a particular blow to the princesses.
It was a favourite event of the late Queen Elizabeth, and the Procession – which sees senior royals brought into the Royal Enclosure in carriages – has been a ceremonial tradition since 1825.
A well-placed source told the MoS: ‘I’ve spoken to my friend who works at Ascot and they said the girls have been told they can’t be there this year. Beatrice has taken it the hardest. She’s been completely blindsided by all of this.’
Prince William is also said to have advised other Royals not to appear in photographs alongside the pair ‘for the rest of the year’.
The move indicates that the Palace accepts that any suggestion Beatrice and Eugenie advanced their own interests by turning a blind eye to the source of the Yorks’ fortune poses a serious risk to the wider family.
Another source added: ‘Ascot would be out of the question because the royals have been told they can’t have pictures with the girls for the rest of the year.’
