Queen Elizabeth ‘remained incredibly close’ to Prince Andrew ‘right up until her death,’ royal author claims
Katie Nicholl, Vanity Fair's royal correspondent and author of "The New Royals," spoke to Fox News Digital about the late monarch's close relationship with the Duke of York during the months leading up to her death.
Princess Beatrice is expecting her second child, but not all is joyful inside the House of Windsor.
Her father, Prince Andrew, is the subject of Amazon Prime’s "A Very Royal Scandal," which focuses on his nuclear 2019 interview about his relationship with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The princess, who reportedly supported her father in speaking out at the time, was mentioned in the special.
Buckingham Palace announced Beatrice's pregnancy on Tuesday.
"Princess Beatrice is no doubt still feeling devastated as she was in the room at Buckingham Palace during the negotiations [for the interview]," British royals expert Hilary Fordwich claimed to Fox News Digital.
PRINCESS BEATRICE'S PREGNANCY ANNOUNCEMENT FEATURES RARE BUCKINGHAM PALACE SLIP-UP
On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace announced that Princess Beatrice of York and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, were expecting their second child. (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Make-A-Wish UK)
"She was obviously out of her depth with neither track record nor experience with such matters," Fordwich noted.
Fordwich’s comments came after a source claimed to Australia’s New Idea Magazine that the 36-year-old is "sick of being humiliated" and feels "stuck in the middle" as the scandal continues to follow her father.
"It’s a stress hole there and, for some reason, Beatrice always gets stuck in the middle of things, playing peacemaker on behalf of her dad," claimed the insider, as reported by GB News.
"Princess Beatrice is no doubt still feeling devastated as she was in the room at Buckingham Palace during the negotiations [for the interview]."
Royal experts told Fox News Digital that Princess Beatrice is still coping with the scandals impacting her father, Prince Andrew. (Daniel Leal - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
"No one wants to be around [Andrew] when he’s dealing with so much right now," the source claimed. "Beatrice is brokenhearted, of course."
In "A Very Royal Scandal," actor Michael Sheen portrays the disgraced Duke of York in the days leading up to his interview on "Newsnight" with Emily Maitlis.
Following the disastrous sit-down in which he addressed the allegations made by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, Andrew announced he was stepping back from royal duties.
"’A Very Royal Scandal’ is a dramatized account of Prince Andrew’s car-crash interview, which has caused … irreparable harm to his public persona and to his daughters," royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital.
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Princess Beatrice is featured in "A Very Royal Scandal" on Amazon Prime. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
"Beatrice and [her sister] Princess Eugenie have always been very close to both of their parents," Pelham Turner pointed out. "But obviously, Beatrice is pregnant and still lives in Britain, thus bearing the brunt of trying to keep all sides of her family and the rest of the royal family … [calm]."
"[She’s been] calming down the rhetoric on both sides," Pelham Turner claimed.
Pelham Turner also claimed that tensions between Andrew, 64, and his brother, King Charles, are at an all-time high.
King Charles reportedly wants to kick Prince Andrew out of Royal Lodge. (YUI MOK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
"King Charles recently told Andrew he should move into a luxury townhouse in Belgravia, a very exclusive part of London, but he refused to do so," Pelham Turner claimed. "Now, the king is [said to be] taking away most of Andrew’s security detail while living at Royal Lodge in Windsor."
"So for Beatrice right now, she is between a rock and a hard place with her father," Pelham Turner added.
Sources also claimed to New Idea magazine that Beatrice had been avoiding Royal Lodge, Andrew's lavish home that is said to be worth $38 million.
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Royal Lodge is photographed here in 1942. (Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Pelham Turner noted that Beatrice’s growing family had been welcomed by Andrew, who is described as "a doting grandfather."
"The arrival should also give him more to do," he said.
"A Very Royal Scandal" isn’t the only special on rotation about the news-plagued prince.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, puts his arm around Princess Eugenie of York alongside Princess Beatrice of York as they look at floral tributes outside Crathie Kirk church on Sept. 10, 2022, in Crathie near Aberdeen, United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II, England's longest-reigning monarch, died on Sept. 8, 2022. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
"Scoop," available on Netflix, is the film adaptation of former BBC Newsnight producer Sam McAlister's book, "Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews." In it, she detailed how the car-crash interview came to fruition.
McAlister previously claimed to Fox News Digital that Andrew was accompanied by Beatrice for his final negotiations before the interview took place.
"It was a curveball," McAlister claimed. "He went, ‘I hope you don’t mind, I’ve brought someone with me.’ I was expecting a lawyer, someone who was going to close this down. Instead, his young daughter came around the corner. You can only imagine what it was like to have a conversation as delicate as this one involving the allegations that were against him … in front of his daughter."
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Sam McAlister attends the world premiere of "Scoop" at the Curzon Mayfair on March 27, 2024, in London. (Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images)
"She was exactly as you would imagine, a concerned daughter who is protective of her father," she continued. "I appreciate these are extraordinary circumstances, and the allegations against him are exceptionally grave. But when it comes down to it, she’s a young woman who clearly loves her father and is looking to protect him."
"The dynamic between them, despite the extraordinary circumstances, was a protective daughter … listening to us, concerned about what he might be doing," said McAlister. "She is very receptive, polite, clever and interested in the process itself. A daughter is the same, whether you’re a prince or a pauper. And that’s exactly who she was."
British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard previously told Fox News Digital that the king wants Andrew to leave his palatial 31-room home where he resides with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
Prince Andrew, seen here with his two daughters and sister Princess Anne, has been attempting to keep a low profile. (Marko Djurica - Pool/Getty Images)
"King Charles realizes that Prince Andrew living in Royal Lodge is not a good look," Chard explained. "Prince Andrew’s reputation is at an all-time low. He lost the respect of the nation. And yet, his ego is at an all-time high. He does not see sense. He has dug his heels and refuses to leave the home he loves, the prestigious Royal Lodge."
"King Charles has been covering him financially. I feel now he has no alternative but to freeze this support, which in turn will freeze Prince Andrew out of Royal Lodge."
According to the U.K. Times, Andrew has lived in Royal Lodge since 2004 after he signed a 75-year lease agreement the year before. The property requires an estimated $503,000 annually for upkeep.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II HAD ‘BLIND SPOT’ FOR PRINCE ANDREW AS JEFFREY EPSTEIN FRIENDSHIP IMPLODED: EXPERT
Jeffrey Epstein was found dead behind bars in 2019. He was 66. (New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services/Handout via REUTERS)
It was reported that the duke, who is "at the brink of eviction," was expected to downsize after his ties to Epstein.
The outlet noted that the king would cover his brother’s living expenses if he moved into Frogmore Cottage, the former U.K. home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The king would also provide for Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.
Frogmore Cottage was the U.K. home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. (GOR/Getty Images)
Frogmore Cottage remains empty more than a year after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were asked to vacate.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle live in California with their two young children. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation)
However, Andrew is reportedly "refusing" to downsize. A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace told Fox News Digital they won't comment on "security matters."
Following his interview, Andrew was also stripped of his honorary military titles. Before Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022, she removed his honorary leadership of various charities, known as royal patronages, and barred him from using the title "His Royal Highness" in official settings.
The council in the northern city of York voted unanimously to withdraw the prince’s "freedom of the city." The honor was awarded to Andrew in 1987 after the queen made him the Duke of York. He is the first person to be stripped of the status, an honor that dates back to medieval times.
WATCH: QUEEN ELIZABETH ‘REMAINED INCREDIBLY CLOSE’ TO PRINCE ANDREW ‘RIGHT UP UNTIL HER DEATH,’ ROYAL AUTHOR CLAIMS
Local leaders have since argued that Andrew should also lose the title of Duke of York. A spokesperson for Andrew declined to comment at the time.
In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually exploiting her on three occasions in 2001 when she was 17. Andrew has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
In 2022, a U.S. judge dismissed the sex abuse lawsuit against Andrew, who settled with Giuffre. The prince made a substantial donation to his accuser’s charity and declared he never meant to malign her character.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre holds a photo of herself as a teen when she says she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew, among others. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Andrew was named in previously secret court documents related to Epstein that were unsealed in the new year. It was part of a 2015 lawsuit filed against Maxwell by Giuffre.
The records, including transcripts of interviews with some of Epstein’s victims and old police reports, contained reminders that the millionaire had surrounded himself with famous and powerful figures, including a few who have also been accused of misconduct.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
