Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have opened up about a big fight that they had when they were younger, which resulted in their mother Sarah Ferguson getting involved.
Speaking on the Lessons From Our Mothers podcast with Isabella Branson and Cressida Bonas, the royal duo discussed what life was like growing up with the Duchess of York as their mother.
Beatrice, 36, described how Sarah, 65, had instilled in her and Eugenie, 35, a determination to reconcile no matter what the argument. Revealing one example, they recalled having a “big fight” over a pair of pink Converse trainers.
Beatrice said: “Mum just jumped into that fight and she was like ‘Come on, you can do it!’ The forced collaboration, you’re slightly annoyed about because she’s pushing on a bit of a nerve, but the forced collaboration and that joy of the making up at the end was a big part of what she instilled in us.
“This is sense that it’s OK to feel, it’s OK to push on those emotions, but you have to figure out what the resolution looks like as well.”
This isn’t the first time the sisters have highlighted how positive of a role model their mother has been to them growing up.
Eugenie revealed that when she was diagnosed with scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine, that Sarah had taught her to feel proud of the condition.
She said on the same podcast: “I had scoliosis when I was younger. I have scoliosis, and I had a big operation when I was 12. My mum basically moved into the hospital with me and was there every waking hour. If I was ever in pain, she was right by my bedside
“As a 12-year-old little girl, I had a big scar halfway down my back, and I was terrified of it, I was ashamed. I didn’t know what it was, I was so young.
“And she used to be so proud of me and my scar and what I’d been through, that if people were ever talking about it, she would turn me around and she would show them my scar.”
So great was Sarah’s influence that Eugenie would put it on display on her wedding day in 2018, when she got married to Jack Brooksbank.
She added: “It led to me feeling so confident that on my wedding day, I wore a dress that showed my scar to the world because I was like ‘This is the coolest thing ever’ because my mum had retrained my brain by her behaviour.”
As time has gone on, the supporting roles have been reversed with Beatrice and Eugenie supporting their mother through her multiple cancer diagnoses, which Sarah has spoken publicly about.