Beatrice and Eugenie Are ‘Nowhere Near as Close as They Once Were’ to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
It seems Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have drifted apart from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The York sisters reportedly haven’t spoken to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in “quite a while.” However, a commentator says that doesn’t mean they aren’t still on friendly terms.
Eugenie and Beatrice haven’t talked to Harry and Meghan in ‘quite a while’
It’s been some time since Harry and Meghan have spoken to Beatrice and Eugenie, a source told OK. The 35 and 34-year-old “haven’t communicated” with the California-based royals “for quite a while now,” they said. “They are nowhere near as close as they once were.”
Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, are the only British royals to have visited Harry and Meghan in Montecito, California. Eugenie and Harry, who have long been close, and whom Meghan knew before she started dating Harry in 2016, even went to the Super Bowl with Harry in 2022.
These days, though, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s daughters are focused on matters closer to home. “Beatrice and Eugenie have firmly pledged their allegiance to the royal family,” the insider said.
The York sisters are still friendly with the Sussexes
That doesn’t mean, however, that they’ve stopped talking to Harry and Meghan completely. Beatrice and Eugenie are believed to still be friendly with the pair.
The younger York sister and her husband are said to be “very careful about what they say to friends” regarding the duke and duchess. Why? “Because they don’t want to be seen as badmouthing Harry or Meghan.”
“There’s still a friendship there,” the insider said. “But it’s not like the close family bond they had before Harry moved to America.”
According to Tom Quinn, a royal author and commentator, Beatrice and Eugenie “have far more in common with Harry and Meghan than with any other part of the family.”
Meanwhile, commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said a friendship could—and does—exist within the ongoing royal family rift. “It is perfectly possible to be involved in a deep, public family rift and be on amiable terms with all involved,” he said, using Eugenie as an example. (via OK.)
“Princess Eugenie, who with her husband Jack Brooksbank is mainly based in the Algarve [Portugal], had Harry and Meghan as visitors.”
“They’ve got on over the years,” he added, saying Eugenie stayed at Frogmore Cottage, Harry and Meghan’s former U.K. home, while the couple “were in California before they were evicted.”
Beatrice and Eugenie have become closer to William and Kate
While the York sisters have drifted apart from Harry and Meghan, a source told OK they’ve gotten closer with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnosis “changed Prince William’s relationship with Beatrice and Eugenie.”
Kate is on a break from royal duties as she undergoes a “few” more months of preventative chemotherapy. Meanwhile, her father-in-law, King Charles III, is continuing his own cancer treatment after being diagnosed in February 2024.
Because of the slimmed-down monarchy, Beatrice and Eugenie are “very willing to step up and do more at this current time to help.”
“They’re very fond of their cousin [William] and their uncle [Charles]. And they want to do everything they can to support them. And they believe in the institution they grew up in.”
“Bea and Eugenie can’t imagine what William is going through right now, and it was an honor for them to give him some support” at a May 2024 Buckingham Palace garden party, they added. “The York sisters were determined not to let him down.”
