Princess Eugenie has cut off all contact with her disgraced father in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles in October over his links to the paedophile financier, is said to be ‘devastated’ at the estrangement from his younger daughter, which followed months of further damaging revelations last year about his relationship with Epstein.
It is understood Eugenie, 35, is refusing to speak to Andrew and did not visit him at Christmas.
Eugenie, who established The Anti-Slavery Collective to help counter sex trafficking, is said to be taking a dim view of her father’s refusal to apologise to Epstein’s victims.
A source told the MoS the rift is like that between the Beckhams: ‘There is no contact at all, nothing. It’s Brooklyn Beckham level – she has completely cut him off.’
Meanwhile, sources say her older sister, Princess Beatrice, is taking a nuanced approach by trying to remain in contact with her father and maintaining her reputation in the Royal Family.
Beatrice invited Andrew to the christening of her 11-month-old daughter Athena in London last month but, perhaps tellingly, he did not attend a party held afterwards in a local pub.
It is not clear whether Eugenie spoke to her father at the celebration.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (left), Princess Eugenie (centre) and Princess Beatrice (right) at St Paul’s Cathedral in London in June 2016
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor horse riding with his groom near Windsor Castle on Saturday
Andrew is accompanied by a groom, seen here stifling a laugh as they ride near Windsor Castle
‘Beatrice is trying to walk the fine line of not cutting her father off and yet remaining close with the Royal Family,’ the source said.
‘They aren’t exactly in regular and close contact at the moment, but Eugenie isn’t trying to walk that line. She’s not speaking to him.’
The breakdown of relations between Andrew and Eugenie heaps humiliation on the disgraced former prince as he prepares to leave Royal Lodge, his home on the Windsor Estate for two decades.
A removals van was seen at the property last week as he begins the process of sifting through years of belongings.
Andrew is expected to move into a temporary property on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk in the next few weeks until renovations are complete on nearby Marsh Farm, his new home, at Easter.
Andrew was said to have been urged to remain in London over Christmas to avoid being close to the Royals as they spent the festive season at Sandringham.
Beatrice and Eugenie faced a difficult decision over where to spend Christmas. Ultimately they attended the royals’ Christmas Day church service in Norfolk and joined their extended family at Sandringham afterwards.
They were invited by King Charles, who is said to be keen to protect the Princesses.
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie on a visit to University College Hospital in London last April
However, social media sleuths watching TV footage of the event suggested relations may have been tense. It is claimed that Prince William tried to avoid eye contact with Eugenie during the traditional walkabout after the church service.
Some suggested he was ‘scarfing’ her – a term coined by royal watchers to describe moments when the Prince appears to adjust his scarf whenever someone he wishes to avoid comes into sight.
Another source added: ‘Perhaps Christmas Day would have been an opportunity for William to break with tradition by publicly walking with his cousins, or at least smiling in their direction, “fab four” style. For whatever reason that opportunity was missed.’
However, a source close to the Royals last night insisted Prince William did ‘spend time’ with Eugenie and Beatrice over Christmas and that there was ‘no animosity between them’.