By Marisa Laudadio
2:45pm PST, Feb 20, 2026
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As scandal once again engulfs
Prince Harry's family amid renewed scrutiny of
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and
Sarah Ferguson's ties to convicted predator
Jeffrey Epstein, a new claim suggests
Meghan Markle has delivered a firm warning to the Duke of Sussex.
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Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were thrust into a crisis after emails exchanged between their mother, Sarah Ferguson, and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein years ago were released by the U.S. Justice Department — including some that discussed the sisters directly. The situation escalated further in recent days when their father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office after emails suggested the former Duke of York shared confidential government information with Epstein while serving as U.K. trade envoy.
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Duncan Larcombe, a former royal editor at
The Sun, believes
Prince Harry is likely taking the news hard. "He'll be gutted for his cousins, there's no doubt about it," Larcombe told
The Mirror. Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie "are two of the few members of the royal family that have actually kept ties with him and haven't blocked him out of their social circles, so he'll be really feeling their pain," Larcombe added. "I think he'll want to reach out to them because they were the ones that reached out to him when no one else in the family did, and you'd like to think Harry would repay that sentiment."
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The fallout from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson's ties to Jeffrey Epstein has led to increased scrutiny of Britain's royal family and, by association,
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, even though the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left as senior working royals in 2020 and moved to Meghan's native California. "There's no doubt the royal family are going through a crisis at the moment, one of the biggest crises they have had to face since the death of
Princess Diana," former royal editor Duncan Larcombe told
The Mirror.
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Meghan Markle understands why
Prince Harry would be so concerned and knows "it's a difficult time for the royal family," expert Duncan Larcombe explained. "But in a way, she'll probably be pleased that Harry has stayed out of it — she'll be wary of guilt by association." According to Larcombe, "I'm sure she's telling him, 'Keep your head down, don't get involved, the royal family is in a crisis, don't drag us into this.'"
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Royal expert Duncan Larcombe noted that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie haven't been accused of any wrongdoing amid their parents' Jeffrey Epstein scandals, yet they're still facing a painful and complicated situation. The daughters of the former Duke and Duchess of York have "had to sit and watch their parents torn to pieces by their own behaviors," Larcombe explained, acknowledging that distancing themselves won't be easy. "Epstein's web spread wide and far, and for the two York sisters to be caught up in it is shocking and they will be absolutely mortified, I'm sure," he added. "What they do now is a really difficult dilemma."
