The Gist

• While Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s royal life is effectively over, both King Charles and Prince William hold his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie in high esteem.

• Royal biographer Robert Jobson wrote in a new piece for Hello! that when it comes to the sisters, “Their titles were never in doubt.”

• Though Andrew has lost his princely title and its privileges, Beatrice and Eugenie remain princesses and have retained their Her Royal Highness stylings.

While the man formerly known as Prince Andrew—and now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor—has been effectively banished from all royal life, that is not the case for his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

King Charles has long been known to be fond of his nieces, and royal biographer Robert Jobson told Hello! that Prince William refuses to punish Beatrice and Eugenie for Andrew’s “downfall.”

“Their titles were never in doubt,” Jobson wrote of Beatrice and Eugenie’s princess titles and Her Royal Highness stylings, which they have retained even though their father is no longer a prince.

Furthermore, Jobson asserted that the Prince of Wales will include Beatrice and Eugenie in his monarchy, and that “His position is direct: Beatrice and Eugenie must not be punished for their father’s alleged sins.”

“Those close to him say he is weary of the hysteria around Andrew,” Jobson continued. “The outrage. The noise. The moral grandstanding.” Necessary action was taken by the King, who consulted William, Jobson added, but “Accountability belongs to Andrew, not to his daughters,” Jobson wrote.

“William is not interested in reopening old wounds,” he continued. “His focus is forward, and forward includes the York sisters.” Jobson added that “A slimmed-down monarchy still needs depth. Beatrice and Eugenie bring steadiness, purpose, and no theatrics.”

“Their restraint has earned quiet public respect,” according to Jobson, who added that “Both the King and Prince William know the difference between disciplining a disgraced man and stripping identity from two women who have shown loyalty in the hardest years.”

According to royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, in the aftermath of the fallout surrounding Andrew, “This will be a deeply painful period for the sisters, as their parents are both likely to languish in public disgrace and foreseeably so,” he told The Daily Mail, adding that “The Yorks have always been a close-knit family.” Beatrice and Eugenie are “well-established as a duo with constructive reach,” he continued, and a royal source told Hello! that, when it comes to William and the sisters, they are “closer than lots of cousins might be—they have that unique shared experience and unusual life they all lead.”

“This is an institution that they all belong to, perhaps in slightly different ways in terms of how they serve it, but they all believe in it and its future and want to do what they can to support it,” the insider continued.

Camilla Tominey of The Telegraph reported that Beatrice and Eugenie are still expected to be invited to the royal family’s Christmas celebrations at Sandringham—though Andrew and his ex-wife (and the sisters’ mother) Sarah Ferguson will not be on the guest list. An insider said Charles wishes that his nieces be “protected” from Andrew’s fallout and that he holds Beatrice and Eugenie in “high affection.”

“They really are a credit to the royal family,” the source added. “They haven’t done anything to deserve what has happened. It’s all of their parents’ making.” The insider added, “If Beatrice and Eugenie want to spend Christmas with the rest of the royal family, I’m sure they’ll be welcomed. But if they want to spend it privately with their parents, everyone will understand. Christmas can be quite complicated for most families, and the royals are certainly no different.”

Meanwhile, as of December 1, the King has officially removed Andrew’s final royal honors, as he is no longer on the registers of the Order of the Garter and the Royal Victorian Order. A statement said (per People) that Andrew’s “name shall be erased” from both registers.

Read the original article on InStyle