10 Rumors About Princess Eugenie We Couldn't Ignore

Princess Eugenie may not be a particularly controversial figure, but she is the daughter of two disgraced ex-royals. Her mother, Sarah Ferguson, was stripped of her Duchess of York title in 2025 following leaked details surrounding her relationship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Eugenie's father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, lost the right to refer to himself as Prince Andrew just two weeks after the Mail on Sunday and The Sun on Sunday obtained emails in which Andrew told Epstein, "We are in this together." The ensuing drama has left a major impact on most members of the royal family, especially Eugenie and her elder sister, Princess Beatrice.

In light of the scandals surrounding her parents, Eugenie's future within royal circles has seemed more uncertain than ever. Any sense of stability surrounding her position has essentially vanished, leaving a lot of room for speculation and pesky rumors. Although Princess Eugenie has tried to make her stance on her parents' royal drama as clear as day, royal watchers wonder how she will move forward from the embarrassment. This has led some commentators to believe that Eugenie is on the outs, while others insist that her royal career is just getting started.

Princess Eugenie's future was called into question well before the Jeffrey Epstein scandal broke. Rumors have long been swirling surrounding Prince William's plans for his reign, with many royal commentators believing that he intends to push certain royals out of palace life. As William himself told the press in a 2024 visit to South Africa, "I can only describe what I'm trying to do and that's trying to do it differently, and I'm trying to do it for my generation. I'm doing it with maybe a smaller "r" in the "royal," if you like, that's maybe a better way of saying it" (via The Guardian).

However, just because William may dream of slimming down the monarchy does not mean that Eugenie was originally on his personal chopping block. During the summer of 2025, royal expert Ingrid Seward told GB News, "[Eugenie and Beatrice are] valuable assets and I'm certain they'll get involved with royal duties when William becomes king. I'm sure they would like to do more, and they're waiting in the wings to be asked." This theory only gained more steam when palace insiders spilled some cryptic tea to the New York Post, stating that Eugenie and her sister, Princess Beatrice, were "well aware" of William's vision for their future in the firm. All this was enough to spur the exciting rumor that Eugenie and Beatrice would be building a larger public presence.

Mere months after initial reports of her royal rise, Princess Eugenie's palace prospects turned grim. As her parents, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, faced increased scrutiny for their associations with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Eugenie's royal future became less certain.

During the fall of 2025, an anonymous source leaked emails from Epstein to his lawyer, Paul Tweed, to the Daily Mail. One such message described Sarah Ferguson's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, all while hinting at Eugenie's past interactions with the sex trafficker as well. "[Ferguson] took apartments in New York. She was the first to celebrate my release with her two daughters in tow. She visited me with [a] policeman sitting at my front desk," the message read. Epstein was released from prison in 2009 after serving time for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

This was not the only place where Eugenie's name came up in the Epstein files. Flight logs released by the U.S. Department of Justice showed that Ferguson had introduced Epstein to her daughters when they were just children. Referring to a flight from New York to Nassau in the Bahamas, the log keeper penned, "Met Princess Sarah Ferguson & kids on the ground." A piece in the Daily Mail similarly claimed, "According to Epstein's former housekeeper, the two young princesses, then aged 9 and 8, and their mother, were later guests on his private Caribbean island, Little St. James."

Because of her parents' closeness with Jeffrey Epstein, it has been speculated that Princess Eugenie will suffer the consequences of the association. While this may seem unfair, rumor has it that certain members of the royal family have expressed concern about the way the Mountbatten-Windsors — formerly the Yorks — could impact the monarchy as a whole. High-ranking courtiers are said to be particularly opposed to the idea of Eugenie staging a royal comeback for fear that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor would somehow use his daughter to make a comeback of his own. What's more, Robert Jobson's 2025 book," The Windsor Legacy," claims that there had even been a movement to expel Eugenie from her royal home.

As per Jobson, both Eugenie and Princess Beatrice were told that the palace would not be responsible for their finances — even prior to the Epstein scandal. They were also reportedly pressured to leave their royal digs behind, as Eugenie's Kensington Palace cottage and Beatrice's St. James' Palace home were considered too grand for a pair of non-working royals. One insider even went so far as to tell Jobson, "The king isn't running a housing association for distant relatives." In light of the Epstein situation, Eugenie's parents have been officially expelled from their residence at Royal Lodge in Windsor. This news has left some royal watchers to wonder whether Jobson's predictions are correct and the princesses will be next. 

Although Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor did eventually move out of Royal Lodge, they didn't go without a fight. The former couple is said to have resisted the possibility of leaving their 30-room mansion despite quite a bit of internal pressure to find alternative lodging. Interestingly, rumor has it that Princess Eugenie was part of the reason why Ferguson and Mountbatten-Windsor eventually relented.

On "The New Agents" podcast on October 27, 2025, royal expert Emily Maitlis dished, "There was a question over whether there had been, earlier in the day, a meeting between Prince William and the princesses, Beatrice and Eugenie, saying, 'You guys have to get your dad to move out of Royal Lodge otherwise we will start re-examining the state of your own titles.'" Of course, this is all just hearsay. But for many royal watchers, the idea of William threatening his cousins in order to evict his uncle made sense. "Obviously, you can see why Andrew as a father would want to keep their daughters happy and keep their titles in place come what may," Maitlis later noted.

As fascinating as this theory may have seemed, Kensington Palace was quick to issue a denial. A palace spokespeople told the Mirror that William did not meet with Eugenie and Beatrice. They also observed that William lacks the constitutional power to remove his cousins' titles.

Princess Eugenie's mother, Sarah Ferguson, may have been expelled from Royal Lodge, but she has plenty of other housing options. Among them is the opportunity to live with Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, at their home in Portugal. The couple own a $4.75 million oceanside mansion, and according to rumors, they have been busy preparing a special suite for Fergie. One of Eugenie's neighbors even told Express in November 2025 that everyone is eager to meet her, gushing, "The word here is that Fergie will be arriving sometime in January. How long she'll stay is anyone's guess but if it's a long-term move, I can guarantee she'll fit well into the social scene. Scores of celebrities and Hollywood stars have been snapping up properties in the area."

But just because there have been whispers about Ferguson's big Portuguese move does not mean that it's necessarily going to happen. There have been competing reports indicating that the ex-duchess will live with her other daughter, Princess Beatrice, in the Cotswolds. A piece in the Daily Mail quoted a second source hinting that Beatrice's home was ready for Ferguson's arrival. "The granny annexe seems to be ready to move into now. It'd be perfect for Fergie, wouldn't it? The stonework has all been repointed, the gutters renovated, the woodwork nicely painted. It has its own entrance," the insider explained. Royal Lodge may be off-limits, but the world is apparently Ferguson's oyster.

When it comes to errant family members, King Charles III and Prince William appear embroiled in a constant feud. While Charles has historically taken a more laid-back view on the subject of forgiveness, William has been rumored to be more punishing. These diverging viewpoints have apparently created tension surrounding Princess Eugenie's future in the royal family, with Charles hoping to place her front and center and William rooting to push her into the background.

In November 2025, Eugenie was invited to become a mentor with the King's Foundation. She not only accepted the position, but also attended a reception for mentors under the age of 35. A fellow guest later told Vanity Fair, "She was so excited to be there and seemed very proud to have been asked." Her sister, meanwhile, accepted a new patronage with Outward Bound — having received Charles' blessing to go forward with the organization. William was said to have vehemently disapproved.

Speaking to Rob Shuter for his #Shuterscoop Substack, one royal insider claimed, "William wanted the Yorks out of sight until after the king's next health review." Charles' decision to allow Princess Beatrice and Eugenie back into the public eye within mere weeks of their parents' public disgrace apparently left the Prince of Wales fuming. A royal aide explained his position: "William's pragmatic. He knows the Yorks are poison with the public. His father just won't see it."

There has been a lot of speculation about what could happen to all the spare royals after King Charles III's reign ends. When it comes to Princess Eugenie, anything is possible, including a future filled with financial audits. According to a report in the Daily Mail, Prince William has apparently expressed concern over the origins of Eugenie's wealth. Her parents, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, have been involved in a number of dubious transactions over the years, and this has reportedly motivated William's interest in his cousin's financial dealings. As one source told the publication, "William is pushing for them to let some sort of ethics check be run on their finances to ensure nothing can be linked back to any of their father's less salubrious contacts and thus avoid future scandal. It might lead to them having to return some interests."

The same report indicated that neither Eugenie nor her sister, Princess Beatrice, seemed particularly interested in William's request. According to rumors, the princesses rejected any kind of probe into their finances. They also apparently turned down King Charles III's offer for them to rely on his own advisers for help. But an insider told the Daily Mail that the palace has reason for concern when it comes to Eugenie and Beatrice's wealth. "No one knows what influence their father's contacts had in their formative years. For most of their gilded lives he was their financial adviser," they dished.

Royal watchers have wondered what could happen to Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice now that their father has lost his titles. From what we can tell, the girls have asked themselves the same question. A lip reader by the name of Nicola Hickling has even claimed to have pieced together a conversation that took place between the two princesses on the streets of London. In a November 2025 interview with the Daily Mail, Hickling said that Beatrice had expressed a sense of care toward Eugenie, saying, "We're in this together, don't forget that." The elder of the two princess apparently went on to say, "It's going to get harder ... we can't do anything."

In the same conversation with the Daily Mail, Hickling went on to claim that Eugenie told Beatrice, "Everything is changing." While it's hard to know exactly what the sisters really whispered to each other during their city outing, one thing is clear: Change is on the way for the duo. As more information about their parents has emerged, public sentiment toward their family has shifted dramatically. At the same time, neither Eugenie nor Beatrice has even approached the same levels of unpopularity faced by Queen Camilla before she made her royal comeback. If history repeats itself, anything and everything is still possible for the two princesses.

Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice may agree that 2026 will be remembered as a year of change for the royal family, but they don't appear to see eye to eye on what that change may bring. Reports indicate that the two sisters have diverging views when it comes to dealing with their parents, Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. While Beatrice has continued to appear in public following the scandal, Eugenie has tried to avoid photographers at all costs. Beatrice consented to going horseback riding with her father just months after his downfall. Eugenie, meanwhile, has maintained an air of secrecy around her relationship with the former prince.

Commenting on these differences in an interview with the Mirror, royal expert Jennie Bond explained, "It would seem that the two daughters are taking different positions on supporting their father. Beatrice must have known she would very probably be seen out riding with him, so we can take this as an open show of loyalty." When it comes to Eugenie, though, things are more complicated. The princess has preferred to lie low and focus on her family. One insider told People that both Eugenie and Beatrice are worried about the way the scandal could impact their own young families. "They have young children, and this is their grandfather — their focus is on protecting their own children from this," the source dished.

Although Princess Eugenie has tried to lay low in the wake of her parents' scandals, she has not successfully avoided the fall out. In March 2026, it was announced that Eugenie would step down from her role at Anti-Slavery International. Per a statement published in The Observer, the charity announced, "After seven years, our patronage from HRH Princess Eugenie of York has come to an end. We thank the princess very much for her support for Anti-Slavery International. We hope that she continues to work to end slavery for good and deliver freedom for everyone." While the charity did not provide insight into this decision, it is believed that the York family's connections to Jeffrey Epstein played a role.

Interestingly, it seems that the decision to part ways was not mutual. Shortly after Eugenie stepped away from the organization, one of her friends told Richard Eden of the Daily Mail that she has no interest in diminishing her public role. "Bea and Eug have a great sense of public duty. They were always happy to carry out engagements when asked by their grandmother ... They don't see why they should slope away like criminals when they've done nothing wrong," the source claimed. Innocent or not, Eugenie will have to prioritize her duty to the monarchy over her interest in public life. Her public image could harm the crown, just like it could have harmed Anti-Slavery International.