Sarah Ferguson's grandmother role marred by scandal

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Sarah Ferguson has apparently been feeling “shut out” by her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, over an ongoing royal family struggle.

The Duchess of York, who is currently living in Austria, is said to be struggling with the distance from her two girls – which experts believe is influenced by Prince Andrew’s scandal and her own controversial past.

Princess Eugenie has now moved to the UK and Portugal with husband Jack Brooksbank and their two children and sources close to the pair believe that Fergie feels as if she is being “shut out” from these big moments in her life.

But despite this, her ex-husband Andrew is allegedly still on “excellent” terms with the princesses.

One commentator explained how hard the situation must be for Fergie.

“Well, who wouldn’t want to be involved in the birth and first few days in the life of a new grandchild? It’s only natural that Fergie, and Andrew too, would want to give any support they can to Eugenie.”

They continued: “We do know that Fergie has been a doting grandmother in the past with Eugenie’s brother August and sister Sienna, and I’m sure she would be heartbroken if she were excluded from this wonderful new episode in Eugenie and Jack’s life.”

Public scandal is blamed for the isolation from the former Duke’s ex-wife and Sarah. After he stepped down from royal duties following allegations that he sexually assaulted an underage woman who accused financier Jeffrey Epstein of sex trafficking – but before an out-of-court settlement was reached – Fergie’s relationship with his side of the family is also thought to have suffered.

But despite this, Eugenie and her sister Beatrice are apparently on “excellent terms” with their father, having been pictured at an outdoor service in Windsor last year with Prince Andrew and Beatrice’s husband, Edo Mapelli Mozzi.

“It has caused some hurt in the past,” a source previously said. “The girls do not want to get involved with their mother’s and father’s ongoing fallouts.”

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A friend close to Eugenie, who has just recently been appointed as a Patron of The King’s College, commented: “Eugenie always keeps her parents close but her primary loyalty when it comes to her personal life is to Jack and their family.”