Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have been advised to sever their ties with the York name after the ongoing scandal surrounding their former royal parents, according to a royal commentator.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles in October last year due to his links with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Sarah Ferguson has also given up her duchess title, with her and the two children named repeatedly within the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond has claimed: “I don’t think either of them has ever flaunted their titles, but there’s obviously a huge cachet in some circles about being called a princess.
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have been urged to drop their royal titles by former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond
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“A title like that opens doors and sets up connections, which both Beatrice and Eugenie have used to their advantage.
“There’s nothing wrong in that, but now that their father has been stripped of his titles and their mother can no longer use hers, they might like to quietly drop the use of theirs.
“I don’t see the need for them to renounce them publicly, but it might be prudent to sever links with the York name — now so very tarnished —and just use their married names,” she told the Mirror.
Following the release of the Epstein files, Andrew was arrested on his 66th birthday last month and remains under investigation for misconduct in public office.
Sources have claimed that Beatrice and Eugenie continue to maintain residences within royal palaces under an arrangement made by their father.
The 37-year-old Beatrice holds an apartment at St James’s Palace, while her younger sister Eugenie, 35, occupies Ivy Cottage, a three-bedroom residence at Kensington Palace.
Andrew and Ms Ferguson stopped using their royal titles before Andrew was subsequently stripped of his
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A source told The Times: “The [rental] deal was made with their father as he wanted them to have a foothold in the royal palaces.”
Ms Bond continued: “I can’t see the King stripping them of their titles — unless they become implicated in some sort of abuse of their status, of which there is no evidence at present.
“But this is a difficult time for both women and they might do well to keep their heads down and get on with their jobs and family lives.”
Emails appear to show that Ms Ferguson brought Beatrice and Eugenie to meet Epstein just weeks after his release from prison following a sex trafficking conviction.
Eugenie subsequently resigned as patron of Anti-Slavery International after seven years, following the Charity Commission’s announcement that it was assessing concerns about the Anti-Slavery Collective, a separate organisation she co-founded in 2017.
Being named in the Epstein files does not indicate any wrongdoing.
Ms Ferguson is named within the Epstein files along with her daughters and former husband
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PAAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Ms Ferguson has stated in the past her regret with being associated with Epstein, saying: “I would never have anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.
“I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children. It was a gigantic error of judgment.”