Prince Andrew Snubbed Princess Eugenie's Birthday To Stay At Jeffrey Epstein House: Report

Prince Andrew's judgement during his association with Jeffrey Epstein is facing renewed scrutiny as he prioritised a stay at Epstein's Florida mansion over attending Princess Eugenie's 11th birthday celebration, a decision that has allegedly led to a total breakdown in their relationship.

According to royal biographer Andrew Lownie's newly published explosive 2025 biography, Entitled, the Duke of York opted to remain at the convicted sex offender's Palm Beach property in 2001 with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell while his daughter celebrated at Disneyland Paris.

The strategic choice, which saw the young Princess smiling for cameras alongside Sarah Ferguson and Princess Beatrice in her father's absence, is now viewed by insiders as a haunting foreshadowing of the scandal that would eventually end Andrew's public life.

Lownie spent four years investigating Andrew's life for his biography Entitled, uncovering a troubling pattern of behaviour that extends far beyond a single missed birthday. His findings paint a portrait of a royal who became progressively entangled with individuals now known to have been deeply involved in exploitation and abuse.

The Choice That Shattered A Father-Daughter Bond

Lownie's investigation suggests that Andrew had been in New York and spent three days with Ghislaine Maxwell, now serving 20 years for sex trafficking, before extending his trip to Epstein's Florida estate. Epstein himself died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. At the time of Eugenie's birthday, neither Epstein nor Maxwell had been publicly exposed.

While the world watched a ten-year-old Eugenie celebrate her milestone at a French theme park, her father was reportedly cocooned within the inner circle of a predatory criminal network. The decision was starkly illustrated by photographs that circulated widely at the time, showing Princess Eugenie and her sister Princess Beatrice smiling alongside their mother, Sarah Ferguson, at the Disneyland celebration in the absence of their father.

Recent reports indicate that the fallout from these associations has reached a point of no return. Princess Eugenie has reportedly 'cut off all contact' with her father, with sources describing the estrangement as absolute. Insiders claim the Princess, who co-founded The Anti-Slavery Collective, finds her father's refusal to apologise to Epstein's victims 'unforgivable.'

The public speculation that followed his absence soon became secondary to far more serious questions about his judgment and character.

Prince Andrew's Associates Alarmed Those Close To Him

What makes Lownie's account particularly significant is that Andrew's inner circle recognised the danger long before the truth about Epstein and Maxwell became public. Sarah Ferguson, who had separated from Andrew in 1992, expressed mounting alarm at her ex-husband's associations.

Through conversations documented in Entitled, Lownie reveals that the former Duchess of York confided in friends that 'Fergie and a lot of other people who love Andrew believe that this friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein has become really dangerous.'

Ferguson's concerns were multifaceted. She felt a 'growing concern about the company her ex-husband was keeping and how it was impacting her own reputation and money-making opportunities in America'. Beyond her personal anxieties, she articulated something more perceptive: a sense of 'jealousy that she had lost her influence over Andrew' as he became increasingly drawn to Epstein's circle.

Friends interviewed by Lownie painted an even starker picture, with one suggesting that 'He is so innocent and naive that he doesn't realise they have ulterior motives', whilst another observed that 'this is all great promotion for Ghislaine and Epstein, who's a real wheeler-dealer'.

Palace Efforts To Intervene

According to the biography, palace insiders apparently recognised the toxicity early on. Ferguson's PR team was reportedly instructed to brief the press that Maxwell held an 'increasing hold on her ex-husband', whilst efforts were made to distance Andrew from Epstein by arranging access to American businesswoman Lynn Rothschild's New York apartment as an alternative to the financier's homes.

None of it worked. Andrew's friendship with Epstein and Maxwell deepened, ultimately defining the remainder of his public life. King Charles later stripped him of his royal titles amid the ongoing scrutiny of these ties. Earlier this year, reports emerged that Eugenie has 'cut off contact' with her father entirely, with sources describing the situation as absolute: 'There is no contact at all, nothing. It's Brooklyn Beckham level—she has completely cut him off.'

Why The Story Still Resonates

The missed birthday, once a footnote, has become a powerful symbol in the narrative of Andrew's decline. For critics, it illustrates how personal choices intersect with far more serious failings of judgement.

The girl whose eleventh birthday he missed has since grown into adulthood. The episode now stands as a moment many believe foreshadowed the consequences that would follow.