PRINCE ANDREW
Continuing with the royal tradition of absentee fathers, Prince Andrew’s role as a naval officer meant he was away from home for much for his daughters’ childhoods. “I spent my entire first pregnancy alone,” Sarah Ferguson later revealed. “When Beatrice was born, Andrew got 10 days of shore leave.”
Beatrice was left at home under the care of nannies at 6 weeks old when Fergie joined Andrew on a royal tour of Australia in 1988, causing outraged reactions in the press. In 1990, Eugenie was born and just months later it became clear her parents marriage was on the rocks when Fergie was photographed with her Texan lover John Bryant.
But despite their divorce in 1996, Andrew and Fergie remained close friends and partners in bringing up their girls, even continuing to live together at their Royal Lodge home in Windsor where they had separate quarters. Princess Eugenie would declare them “the best divorced couple I know” and in 2016 called her dad “the rock” of the family.
Andrew, meanwhile, has always taken great care to protect and promote his daughters’ royal statuses. In 2015 he was reportedly furious when they were stripped of their 24-hour police protection and in 2016 his request that Eugenie and Beatrice be given taxpayer-funded, full-time royal roles and new Kensington Palace accommodation was blocked by Prince Charles. He was similarly insistent that Eugenie’s wedding last year be as lavish as Meghan and Harry’s and also be televised.