Fergie’s hurt over new granddaughter: Sarah fears ‘the wheel has turned’ in the York family as Eugenie keeps her distance amid Epstein scandal, says royal expert
Princess Eugenie has given birth to a daughter, Adelaide Elizabeth Annina Brooksbank, but her mother Sarah Ferguson, once known as an exuberant royal grandmother, made no public comment on the arrival. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams suggests the silence reflects a broader shift in the York family's standing, as Eugenie and her sister Beatrice have grown more cautious about public appearances since their parents' reputations were damaged, with their father Prince Andrew embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and Ferguson also facing her own fall from grace.
Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank welcomed Adelaide on 3 August at a hospital in Lisbon, with King Charles quickly congratulating the couple on Instagram, but no equivalent message came from Ferguson. Notably, the baby's name was not linked to Ferguson, with Eugenie saying the names honoured people the couple "love and admire" — Elizabeth reportedly a tribute to the late Queen, and Adelaide reflecting Portuguese connections. Fitzwilliams noted the sisters now avoid high-profile events like Royal Ascot, attending only select occasions such as Peter Phillips's wedding, and warned their King-funded London homes may not remain secure once Prince William becomes monarch. Ferguson, meanwhile, has had no permanent home since leaving Royal Lodge, moving between temporary arrangements in Austria and Switzerland.
- Sarah Ferguson stayed silent on Eugenie's new baby, Adelaide
- Baby's name has no link to Ferguson, unlike past grandchildren
- Expert says it shows the York family's declining public standing
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Fergie’s hurt over new granddaughter: Sarah fears ‘the wheel has turned’ in the York family as Eugenie keeps her distance amid Epstein scandal, says royal expert
Princess Eugenie is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, known as Fergie, who divorced in the 1990s but have continued to live together and present a united front as a family. Eugenie and her sister, Princess Beatrice, have generally kept a lower public profile than other senior royals, stepping back further from public life as their father faced serious allegations linked to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which he has denied. Ferguson has also faced her own reputational difficulties over the years, including past financial and business controversies.
Eugenie is married to Jack Brooksbank and already has one son with him; the family's royal ties mean any new arrival draws public attention, partly because of where they sit in the line of succession and partly because of ongoing scrutiny of the wider York family. King Charles, as head of the family, and other relatives typically mark such events publicly, so the presence or absence of comment from family members is often read as a signal of the relationships between them.