Surprising reason Beatrice and Eugenie were banned from speaking to Harry and William

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were reportedly banned from seeing Prince William and Prince Harry after Princess Diana fell out with Sarah Ferguson over an astonishing claim

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were allegedly barred from contact with their cousins following a “falling out”. This occurred after Princess Diana is said to have declared them “persona non grata” following a dispute with Sarah Ferguson.

Royal biographer Tina Brown portrayed the York sisters as Prince William and Prince Harry’s “favourite” cousins in her 2022 book, The Palace Papers. Fergie though is believed to have clashed with Diana after suggesting “she had developed verrucae after borrowing her shoes”. According to The Times, it marked one of the earliest occasions the sisters recognised “families are not always happy”.

It states: “On top of their parents’ divorce, they were banned from seeing their cousins William and Harry after Princess Diana fell out with Fergie over a verruca. (Fergie claimed she’d got one from borrowing Diana’s shoes.)”

According to WomanandHome, the episode formed part of Diana’s “pattern of cutting out people” from the young princes’ lives. Brown suggests this was something that “continued throughout their childhood”.

The writer maintains that their mother “always needed to be first in her boys’ hearts”. She argues that while Diana was “clearly devoted” to the young princes, there existed a “destructive side to her mothering”

Beatrice and Eugenie have meanwhile experienced a turbulent journey within the Royal Family. Their parents separated in 1996, yet maintained a close bond, frequently being characterised as the “happiest divorced couple in the world”. However, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah have faced ongoing scrutiny over their association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. Andrew’s close ties with Epstein led to a catastrophic Newsnight interview in 2019.

Beatrice was reportedly “left in tears” after the interview, which she is said to have helped arrange. Former producer Sam McAlister claims Beatrice was an “unexpected guest” in the discussions ahead of the programme.

She disclosed that Beatrice posed “sensible questions” about the suggestions from Newsnight staff and later expressed sympathy for the princess as her father “discussed his relationship” with Epstein.

According to the Mail on Sunday, Beatrice hosted a birthday dinner for her then-fiancé, now husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi shortly after the interview aired. A source noted she was “quite tearful at times”.

They added: “In fact, Beatrice has been in tears every day since the interview went out.”

Since then, Andrew has been stripped of his royal titles and military patronages and compelled to vacate his Royal Lodge residence. The former Duke of York shared the 30-room mansion with Sarah. Sarah and Andrew are reportedly known to consult their daughter when making public-facing decisions.

A source told the Mail on Sunday: “Both Sarah and Andrew rely on Beatrice’s judgement a lot when it comes to dealing with the public as she’s got an old head on young shoulders. You can’t really blame Beatrice because I think the odds were stacked against her on this one.”

It comes as Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 36, are expected to be absent from the Royal Family Easter service this weekend. The York sisters have made separate arrangements away from Windsor, but have not been “frozen out” from the occasion.