Sarah Ferguson's troubles put Beatrice, Eugenie to test

Sarah Ferguson’s latest scandal is expected to have a significant impact not only on her own reputation but also on her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Daily Mail that because of the sisters’ close loyalty to their mother and Prince Andrew, their own careers and charitable work may suffer for a some time.

He described this as an “enormous personal hurt” for Beatrice and Eugenie, who come from a close-knit family.

“The Duchess of York's disgrace is huge news, however, and likely to cause Beatrice and Eugenie enormous personal hurt,” he said.

The expert continued, “The Yorks have always been a close-knit family. However, their closeness to their parents is likely to mean that they are not involved, at least for a period, probably a considerable period, in new charitable projects.

"This will be a deeply painful period for the sisters as their parents are both likely to languish in public disgrace and foreseeably so.”

Meanwhile, royal author Phil Dampier added that while the sisters will be deeply affected by the situation, they are mature enough to understand the reality of their parents’ troubles.

“Beatrice and Eugenie will obviously be devastated by what has happened to their parents but they are old enough and now wise enough to know the truth,” he said.