Princess Eugenie is spotted for first time since father Andrew was stripped of his Prince title as she shares a joke with husband Jack Brooksbank in Notting Hill
Princess Eugenie has put on a brave face as she was spotted in public for the first time since her father Andrew was stripped of his titles and Windsor home.
The 35-year-old, who is 12th in line to the throne, was photographed laughing with her husband Jack Brooksbank, 39, in Notting Hill.
The couple looked happy and were enjoying an animated conversation as they walked through west London this week.
Despite the scandal that has engulfed Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, a relaxed Eugenie and Jack are clearly keen to continue life as normal.
The couple were seen smiling on their walk and repeatedly exchanged warm glances. They spoke briefly with their companions, who were laughing along as Eugenie chatted expressively.
They were both casually dressed, with the princess wearing black jeans and a matching top with brown suede boots. Her husband of seven years wore jeans, a jumper, Nike trainers and a bobble hat.
Eugenie’s older sister Beatrice was recently spotted looking much more sombre during a recent visit to Windsor’s Royal Lodge, which their parents must now leave in the fallout from Virginia Giuffre’s book and the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
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Eugenie and her husband Jack were seen in west London this week
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The couple, who celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary last month, were sharing a joke with friends
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Eugenie looked happy and relaxed despite her father’s loss of his titles and home
Beatrice and Eugenie are close to their parents but have been reportedly spending more time supporting their beleaguered father.
The two princesses will retain both their HRH titles and membership of the ‘House of York’ because the King is keen to ensure his nieces are not tainted by the ‘sins of their father’.
But recent events have inevitably placed a strain on family relations.
Multiple sources told the Daily Mail that both princesses have gone out of their way to strongly support beleaguered Andrew in recent weeks.
Both girls are said to be deeply worried about his mental wellbeing, with Andrew having become a virtual recluse at Royal Lodge, which he is due to leave.
But one source said it won’t be for a while.
‘Even when she is sitting in Royal Lodge, Sarah can spend the money,’ one informed source told Rebecca English.
‘The Amazon deliveries that go up to Royal Lodge are unbelievable. There are rooms full of boxes that haven’t even been opened.
‘It will take weeks, if not months, to shift all their s*** out.’
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Jack and Eugenie married in 2018 and have two children
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Eugenie and her sister Beatrice have been supporting both their parents
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Sources have claimed that the Eugenie and her older sister are particularly worried about their father
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Jack is known to be very popular with his wife’s family
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The princess repeatedly looked warmly towards her husband
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Eugenie was making the group laugh with her comments
Beatrice and Eugenie’s mother is said to be ‘blaming herself’ and may quit the UK as she finally separates from her disgraced ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten Windsor 30 years after their divorce.
The three women were known as the ‘tripod’, the nickname used by Sarah Ferguson and her daughters to describe their mutually supportive relationship.
But apparently that relationship is more strained now.
The former Duchess of York is said to be ‘more on edge’ than Andrew and is hunkering down in Royal Lodge ‘surrounded by Amazon deliveries’ amid the couple’s dramatic fall from grace.
Andrew was stripped of his titles and has also agreed to surrender his lease on the 30-room Royal Lodge, where he has paid ‘peppercorn rent’ for decades.
He is expected to be offered a home in Sandringham.
The former couple have been exposed in recent weeks after emails emerged showing contact with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, despite them publicly dissociating themselves from him.
A source told the Daily Mail: ‘Sarah is going around blaming herself. She keeps repeating “what if I hadn’t done this, or hadn’t done that”.’
Meanwhile, another source said that Fergie is now considering leaving the country.
They said: ‘She’s always rather lived on the hoof and aside from her children and grandchildren, there’s not a lot to keep her here.
‘Put it this way, the invitations have dried up overnight.’
For years, Sarah has been a staunch ally of her husband, supporting him in the aftermath of his disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019.
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Princess Beatrice drives from Royal Lodge, home of her father Prince Andrew and mother Sarah Ferguson, at Windsor in Berkshire on October 20
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The Duke and Duchess of York are divorced but live together in Windsor and remain very close to their daughters
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Pictured: Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten Windsor at Royal Ascot in 2019
The former spouses, who officially divorced in 1996, have even continued to live together for most of the three decades since.
But Sarah has now said she will find her own place and ‘will move on with her life’ – as Andrew begins his new chapter as a private citizen at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
Nevertheless, it is expected to take weeks for Andrew to finally leave Royal Lodge – with the move not due to take place until the new year.
An insider explained that while Sarah and Andrew once brought strength to one another, the opposite now appears to be the case.
‘There are many who have almost admired her dogged loyalty to her ex-husband and family,’ they said.
‘She has always found a way to bounce back from the many public scandals she has faced over the years, normally with a well-paid public mea culpa and a promise to change her ways.
‘[But] That’s unlikely to happen this time. It’s not just a question of her finances now, but her personal dealings with a serial sexual predator – and her willingness to lie about them.
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Sarah Ferguson (pictured in 2022) is ‘blaming herself’ and may quit the UK as she finally separates from her disgraced ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten Windsor
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Pictured: Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park where Andrew has lived
‘The phone has stopped ringing overnight. Even those who were willing to defend her less than a month ago don’t want to have anything to do with her now.
‘It’s a disaster. Professionally and personally. Even she can’t see a way of bouncing back.’
It comes as the former Duchess of York, who is an author, is also facing publishing delays for her latest children’s book which was due to hit the shelves on October 9.
However, according to a press release in Bookseller, it is now showing as only available from November 28 on Amazon.
The challenges emerged after Waterstones bookstores told BBC News that the book’s publication date had moved.
Meanwhile Sarah’s publisher, New Frontier Publishing, did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by the BBC.
But one industry source told the BBC that it would be ‘an entirely sensible decision’ to delay publication.
