The once unbreakable bond between Sarah Ferguson and her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, famously dubbed 'the tripod', has reportedly collapsed. This fracture in their relationship is attributed to Sarah Ferguson's and her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

While Sarah Ferguson had largely remained outside the immediate controversy surrounding Prince Andrew and Epstein, recent revelations of correspondence from 2011 show her referring to Epstein as a 'supreme friend'. This email seemingly contradicted her earlier public denunciation of Epstein, where she had called her association with him a 'gigantic error of judgement' and affirmed that his actions were wrong and rightly led to his imprisonment. Ferguson stated she wrote the email out of fear for potential threats against her family.

A family friend revealed to the Daily Mail's Royal Editor, Rebecca English, that the princesses are now reportedly 'even more disappointed in their mother than their father'. Despite this, the source emphasized that Beatrice and Eugenie love their mother dearly, appreciate her as a wonderful grandmother, and are deeply concerned about the mental toll these events are taking on both their parents. However, the friend noted that 'the scales have also somewhat fallen from their eyes'. Princess Eugenie herself once highlighted the strength of their bond in a 2008 interview, stating, 'Mummy, Bea and I call ourselves 'the tripod'. They are my best friends in the world.'

Concurrently, Prince Andrew has faced significant repercussions. Buckingham Palace issued a statement confirming that he will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, stripped of his Prince and HRH titles, and has been ordered to surrender his lease at Royal Lodge, his long-time home. He will move to alternative private accommodation. These measures were deemed necessary despite his continued denial of allegations against him, with the Palace expressing 'utmost sympathies' for victims and survivors of abuse. Andrew had previously announced he was relinquishing his royal titles and honours amid scrutiny of his ties to Epstein, particularly before the publication of a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre.

Despite the changes affecting their parents, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will retain their Princess titles. This is due to their status as children of the son of a sovereign, in accordance with King George V's Letters Patent of 1917. They will also maintain their positions in the line of succession, being ninth and twelfth in line to the throne, respectively. Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, who divorced in 1996 but remain friendly, share these adult daughters who now have their own families.