Prince Andrew and Family Skip Traditional Royal Family Gathering

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were absent from the royal family's traditional Easter Matins service at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on Sunday, the most visible sign yet of the monarchy's effort to draw a boundary between the institution and the escalating scandal surrounding their father.

The two sisters, who had regularly attended the annual service in previous years and joined the family at Christmas, made "alternative plans" with the agreement of King Charles. Senior working royals including the King and Queen Camilla, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales, attended the gathering at Windsor as usual.

The absence comes less than seven weeks after Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Police alleged he had shared confidential government trade information with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his years as a UK trade envoy. He was held in custody for nearly 11 hours before being released; the investigation remains ongoing. King Charles, responding to the arrest the same day, stated that "the law must take its course" and offered investigators the royal family's "full and wholehearted support and cooperation."

The arrest capped a stunning fall for the former duke. In October 2025, Charles stripped his younger brother of all royal honours, titles and styles, including his peerage title of Duke of York and his birth title of prince. Mountbatten-Windsor was also removed from Royal Lodge, his residence on the Windsor estate. He is now known formally only as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Beatrice and Eugenie had not been publicly implicated in their father's conduct, and their titles were unaffected when Charles acted last autumn. However, royal commentators have increasingly characterised the "York brand" as toxic, and the palace and the sisters are reported to have reached the Easter decision together. A royal source confirmed the two women and their young families would not be at Windsor for the Easter gathering, while indicating they are expected to attend future family celebrations.

The dynamic within the family has grown visibly more complex. Prince Edward travelled privately to Sandringham for a meeting with his brother shortly before Easter, reportedly the first royal family member to visit Mountbatten-Windsor following the February arrest. The British government has separately been weighing whether to formally remove Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession, a step that would codify in statute what has already been established in practice.

For Beatrice and Eugenie, Sunday's absence from the chapel steps at Windsor marked a continued withdrawal from the monarchy's most public moments, a shift whose pace has accelerated with each new development in their father's legal situation.