Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have made a shock appearance at today's pre-Christmas lunch amid the ongoing royal drama.
Beatrice, 36, arrived for King Charles III's Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace alongside her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
Meanwhile, Eugenie, 34, arrived in a car beside her husband of six years, Jack Brooksbank.
Their presence at the pre-Christmas lunch comes after a source claimed the sisters are planning to spend Christmas Day with their respective in-laws this year for the first time.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie make shock appearance at pre-Christmas lunch amid royal drama
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Beatrice is currently expecting her second child with her husband Edoardo.
The couple share a three-year-old daughter named Sienna, and Edoardo has an eight-year-old son named Wolfie from a previous relationship.
Meanwhile, Eugenie and Jack have two sons, August, three, and Ernest, one.
Their father, Prince Andrew, pulled out of the Royal Family’s traditional pre-Christmas lunch today, as he continues to be criticised over his links to an alleged Chinese spy.
Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice arriving at Buckingham Palace today
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Andrew decided not to attend the gathering at Buckingham Palace on Thursday after speaking to his ex-wife and close friend Sarah, Duchess of York, according to a source.
The move is another embarrassing moment for the King’s brother, who has already withdrawn from joining senior royals at Sandringham for the festive period.
The Buckingham Palace lunch is a private event for senior royals and their wider family who will not be attending Christmas celebrations at Charles’s Sandringham home.
Earlier this week, it was revealed in a High Court hearing that alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who was banned from the UK, was said to have been a “close” confidant of Andrew.
Jack Brooksbank and Princess Eugenie arriving at Buckingham Palace
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Jack Brooksbank and Princess Eugenie were all smiles for the photographers
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Yang, who was named after an anonymity order was lifted on Monday, has insisted it was “entirely untrue” to claim he was involved in espionage and that he has “done nothing wrong or unlawful”.
The businessman, previously referred to only as H6 in the legal case, was the founder-partner of the Chinese arm of the duke’s Pitch@Palace initiative, and twice visited Buckingham Palace in 2018 to meet with the late Queen’s second son.
He is also said to have entered St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle at Andrew’s invitation.
On Friday, the duke’s office said Andrew “ceased all contact” with the then-unnamed businessman when concerns were first raised about him.
Andrew met Mr Yang through “official channels” with “nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed”, a statement said.
