Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are set to join their royal relatives for a wedding celebration on June 6, in what would be the first time the pair have publicly appeared with the wider family since the release of the Epstein files and their father Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.
The sisters are invited to their cousin Peter Phillips’ wedding to Harriet Sperling, a private ceremony at All Saints Church in Cirencester. Beatrice is going, while Eugenie, who is in her second trimester and hopes to attend, is also expected to make the event if her pregnancy allows.
The appearance would mark a notable return to royal company for the two sisters after months of keeping a low profile. A source said the King had always wanted his nieces to remain part of the family, while another said the royal family needs good news and that nothing unites like a big church wedding.
Their absence has been noticeable. In April, Beatrice and Eugenie were excluded from a major royal gathering held to mark the centenary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth, a sign that their place around the family had been far from secure as scrutiny over their parents intensified. They have not visited their father since his exile to Sandringham and his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
The backlash around Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has continued to hang over the family because the Epstein files suggested his links to Jeffrey Epstein ran much longer and deeper than was first thought. He has not been charged and has always denied wrongdoing, but the episode has left the sisters trying to balance family loyalty with a public retreat from royal affairs.
That makes Peter Phillips’ wedding more than a private family occasion. The ceremony was chosen because All Saints Church is close to Gatcombe Park, where Anne, the Princess Royal, has lived for 50 years, and because Phillips and Sperling also live nearby. The setting gives the family a local, intimate backdrop for a reunion that will be watched closely for what it says about where Beatrice and Eugenie now stand.
Princess Eugenie’s recent third pregnancy announcement has added another layer to her return to public view. She came back to social media just hours before revealing the baby news, after celebrating Jack Brooksbank turning 40, and was recently seen in the background of a photo at the Italian society wedding of Charles Forte and Georgie Wright. Still, a royal wedding on June 6 would be the clearest sign yet that the sisters are being drawn back in, and that their next public appearance is no longer a matter of if but when.
