SH0CKING BAN: Two of the World’s Most Famous Names Barred from Royal Ascot Horse Racing Event Over Parents’ Ties to Epstein

The sisters’ parents — the former Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson — have faced renewed scrutiny for their ties to the convicted sex offender

Princess Beatrice (left) and Princess Eugenie (right) in 2023, Sarah Ferguson (left) and the former Prince Andrew (right) in 2025.Credit : Dave Benett/Getty; Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have been banned from this year’s Royal Ascot amid concerns tied to their parents’ relations with Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new report.

Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, will not join the royal family at the annual horse racing event in June, the Daily Mail reported. The outlet added that the sisters — whose father is the former Prince Andrew and mother is Sarah Ferguson — will also not be present with other senior royals for the royal procession.

Speaking with the Daily Mail, a source said, “I’ve spoken to my friend who works at Ascot, and they said the girls have been told they can’t be there this year.”

“Beatrice has taken it the hardest. She’s been completely blindsided by all of this,” the insider added.

Buckingham Palace and a spokesperson for Royal Ascot declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE. Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie did not respond to requests for comment. PEOPLE understands that decisions around royal family attendance at Royal Ascot, including the royal procession carriage list, rest solely with Buckingham Palace.

Princess Beatrice (left) and Princess Eugenie in 2023.

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

Andrew, 66, stepped back from his public royal role in 2019 following a headline-making BBC interview, in which he discussed his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide that same year at age 66. The financier was awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges at the time of his death.

The former Duke of York has been connected to Virginia Giuffre, an outspoken Epstein victim who has alleged that she was made to have sex with Andrew when she was just 17 years old. Giuffre died by suicide at age 44 in 2025.

Queen Elizabeth stripped her son of his military titles and patronages in January 2022, after a judge rejected his attempt to have Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit against him dismissed. He eventually settled with Giuffre out of court for an undisclosed sum.

After Giuffre’s posthumous book, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, was released last year, scrutiny of Andrew intensified, and he gave up the use of his royal titles, as well as other titles and honors.

Andrew, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, was then stripped of his royal titles days later by King Charles.

Ferguson, 66, for her part, appears numerous times in the trove of Epstein evidence that was released by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), including one email in which she asked to work as Epstein’s house assistant because she “desperately” needed money, and another where she asked about children’s charity advice while Epstein was in jail for solicitation of prostitution with a minor.

Sarah Ferguson (left) and the former Prince Andrew (right) in 2019, Jeffrey Epstein in 2005.

Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty; Neil Rasmus/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Last month, Andrew was arrested and detained by police for 11 hours on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The arrest on Feb. 19 marked the first of a royal since 1649, when King Charles I was beheaded for high treason.

Ferguson, meanwhile, is reportedly focusing on self-care amid the fallout over the Epstein ties. She has kept a low profile following the news of Andrew’s arrest, and as of late January, PEOPLE understood that Ferguson planned to spend time abroad as she considered her next moves.

A source recently told PEOPLE that Beatrice and Eugenie have been trying to “stay away” from the controversy surrounding their parents.

“They have young children, and this is their grandfather — their focus is on protecting their own children from this,” the insider said. (Eugenie is a mom to sons August, 5, and Ernest, 2, with her husband Jack Brooksbank, while Beatrice is mom to daughters Sienna, 4, and Athena, 1, with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. She is also a stepmom to 9-year-old Christopher “Wolfie” Woolf.)