King Charles Has Made a U-Turn on Beatrice and Eugenie, But the Sisters “Can’t Win” Either Way
The King has extended an invitation to his nieces, but a friend noted Beatrice and Eugenie "will get criticism whether they go or not."
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Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have been navigating the fallout from their parents’ repeated scandals in recent weeks, but according to Hello!, they’ve been extended a special invitation by King Charles. It was previously reported that the sisters were being excluded from Royal Ascot this June in the wake of their father Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest. But on Wednesday, April 1, Hello! claimed that King Charles has extended his nieces an invitation to the annual horse racing event.
According to the outlet, the York sisters have been invited to Ascot by The King, and despite reports of the Royal Family distancing themselves from Beatrice and Eugenie, “senior members of the Royal Family have continued to check in on them.”
Although it seems they’re welcome to come to the races this summer, a friend of the sisters told the outlet that they’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. "The question is, would they want to go to a public event of that nature?" their friend said. "They will get criticism whether they go or not—and not just that event. They just can't win.”
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Princess Eugenie (far right) and Princess Beatrice (left) chat with Princess Kate's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, at Royal Ascot in 2024.
Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi attend Royal Ascot 2025.
Princess Beatrice—who has been subjected to rumors about her marriage in recent weeks—has been hit especially hard by the constant “scrutiny” aimed at her family.
Her friend told Hello! that “Bea has found the scrutiny very hard, especially the strain of the past few weeks. It has felt as though things have been in freefall, and she's being hammered and bullied by commentators.”
A source close to Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, recently told People that reports of any relationship trouble are “complete nonsense.”
As for this weekend's Easter celebrations, the sisters are said to be spending the holiday apart from the Royal Family with The King's blessing.
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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.
Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.
Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.