In the run-up to Christmas 2025, the question on many royal watchers’ minds was whether Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie would spend the holiday with the rest of the Royal Family in Norfolk. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor wasn’t invited to the traditional Sandringham gathering after his titles were stripped in October, and although his daughters could’ve stayed home last year, they opted to join King Charles for Christmas.
Speaking on the Sun’s “Royal Exclusive” show, Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, said that even if Eugenie and Beatrice wanted to skip a royal Christmas, she thinks the former Duke of York would’ve convinced the girls otherwise.
Seward said that Andrew “wants to keep a foot in” with his family, adding, “A, he wants to know what’s going on. B, he’d want to know what people were saying about him.”
Princess Beatrice’s husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, is pictured with his wife (right) and Princess Eugenie for the Christmas morning church service at Sandringham on December 25, 2025.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Without an invitation of his own, the disgraced royal can only get a glimpse at his family’s goings on through his daughters.
“And he’s always said that, and Fergie has said, ‘the girls are my passport,’ Seward continued. “They are Andrew’s only passport into the Royal Family now. And I’m absolutely sure that he persuaded them.”
Royal commentator Charlie Rae also noted that “Andrew wants to keep an eye on what’s going on,” adding since “he’s not at the table anymore” the former duke would likely turn to his daughters and “be on the phone saying, ‘Right, who said what?'”
Princess Beatrice (right) and Princess Eugenie are pictured walking to church with their father in 2018.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, marked the holiday privately, with Entitled author Andrew Lownie telling Cosmopolitan UK the former couple “would take advantage of this last Christmas to do all sorts of entertaining” at their longtime home, Royal Lodge, before they’re evicted.
“They’ve got friends…there are friends that go back a long way, and [have] stuck with them,” he said. “Andrew still has his shooting friends.”
As for his next move, the former duke is set to move into a remote property on the Sandringham estate, with multiple royal sources confirming that The King hopes Andrew and Sarah will be out before the family celebrates Easter in Windsor.
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