Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie won’t be at the royal family’s Christmas celebration this year.
The siblings made the rare decision to skip the annual holiday gathering hosted by King Charles III at his Sandringham estate, according to multiple outlets.
Instead, Beatrice, 36, and Eugenie, 34, will both spend Christmas with their respective in-laws.
Beatrice is married to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and is currently pregnant with their second child. Eugenie is married to Jack Brooksbank and they have two sons.
According to People, Beatrice and Eugenie were invited to spend Christmas with their respective in-laws before the news broke of the Chinese spy scandal that involves their father, Prince Andrew.
This is only the second time in the last decade that Beatrice and Eugenie have missed the royal family’s Christmas gathering. The other instance was in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andrew, 64, and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, 65, will also be absent from the upcoming festivities, and will instead be at their shared home, Royal Lodge, per People.
The former couple was at Sandringham on Christmas last year. They were expected to attend the gathering again this year, but that changed due to the controversy over Andrew’s ex-staffer who has been accused of being a Chinese spy.
According to The Independent, Ferguson encouraged Andrew to bow out of the Christmas party, and gave up her own invitation.
The outlet said Ferguson and Andrew’s decision “is thought to have been made easier” by their daughters’ choice to spend Christmas with their in-laws.
Last week, a British high court heard evidence suggesting that an alleged Chinese spy banned from the UK was a “close” confidant of Andrew.
Businessman Yang Tenbo, also known as Chris Yang, has since been revealed to be the alleged Chinese operative after a judge lifted an anonymity order that had kept his identity under wraps.
Yang has denied the accusations of espionage leveled against him, saying in a statement that he had “done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded.”
The Chinese national allegedly visited the UK regularly and frequently attended events at royal residences — Andrew’s 60th birthday party at Royal Lodge key among them.
Court documents have reportedly revealed that Yang had an “unusual degree of trust” with Andrew and was authorized to act on his behalf in business dealings with Chinese investors.
The prince’s office has pushed back on accusations of impropriety, insisting that “nothing of a sensitive nature” was discussed with the Chinese businessman and that their meetings had occurred “through official channels.”
Andrew has also said he “ceased all contact” with the alleged spy, who is accused of trying to ingratiate himself with influential figures in the British establishment as part of an “elite capture” operation.
