Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will not be featured on the Buckingham Palace balcony during this year’s Trooping the Colour, the annual official birthday parade for King Charles, scheduled for June 15. Buckingham Palace has disclosed details of the ceremony, revealing that King Charles, following medical advice after a cancer diagnosis, will inspect the soldiers from a carriage alongside Queen Camilla, rather than on horseback as is customary.
Kate Middleton, who is also undergoing cancer treatment, will not be present at the Colonel’s Review, the traditional rehearsal for the Trooping, on June 8. Royal sources have indicated that only working members of the Royal Family will attend the main event, excluding Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. This decision comes amid claims from a royal expert that Prince Andrew’s daughters are being kept “at arm’s length” due to their close relationship with Prince Harry amidst the ongoing family feud.
Royal expert and author Tom Quinn shared insights with Mirror, stating, “As his two cousins pivot towards his exiled brother, and with his wife and father incapacitated by illness, William feels increasingly isolated and in the closed hothouse atmosphere of Kensington Palace and Windsor he is bound to feel increasingly paranoid.” Quinn added, “For William, it’s a question of loyalty – as Beatrice and Eugenie have got closer to Harry, William has decided to keep them very much at arm’s length.”
The two sisters are known to have a close bond with Prince Harry, with the Duke of Sussex believing his cousins can “sympathise” with him the most. This relationship has reportedly caused “serious concern” at Kensington Palace, the residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and Princess Catherine. According to Quinn, “There is serious concern at Kensington Palace that Prince Andrew‘s daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are becoming increasingly close to Harry and Meghan. Beatrice and Eugenie are moving across to what one Kensington Palace official described as ‘the dark side’.”
Despite their exclusion from the Trooping the Colour balcony appearance, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were seen at a recent Buckingham Palace garden party hosted by Prince William. They were joined by other non-working royal cousins, including Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips. Although royal aides mentioned that William personally invited the younger members of the royal family for the day, there has been no indication of permanent working royal roles for the cousins.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams has suggested that Princess Eugenie could play a key role in mending the rift between Prince William and Prince Harry. Speaking to the Daily Express, Fitzwilliams highlighted Eugenie’s close bond with both brothers. However, he expressed doubts about the possibility of reconciliation given the deepening estrangement between William and Harry. “Eugenie, particularly, he’s [Harry] got good relations with, we know that,” Fitzwilliams said. “It might be in some future time that [her presence] might be useful in healing the rift.”
Fitzwilliams also noted that Harry would not have minded Beatrice and Eugenie’s show of support for the monarchy during the recent garden party, as he “would simply expect Beatrice and Eugenie to be present at such an occasion [as] it’s what they do.”
The Trooping the Colour event will see King Charles and Queen Camilla taking part in the celebrations, albeit in a modified manner due to the King’s health. The ceremony will be a significant moment for the Royal Family, with only working members participating in the balcony appearance, highlighting the ongoing tensions and shifting dynamics within the family.
As the Royal Family navigates these complex relationships and public appearances, the absence of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie from the Trooping the Colour balcony serves as a poignant reminder of the current state of affairs. Their close relationship with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle continues to influence their standing within the royal fold, reflecting the broader challenges faced by the family in maintaining unity and public image amidst personal and health-related struggles.
