Prince Harry quitting royal life five years ago did not only send shockwaves across the world, but across the Royal Family too. Since 2020, the Duke of Sussex has seen a number of his relationships with his royal relatives become strained, especially since moving to the US and sharing his side of the story on a number of personal Royal Family moments on both his Netflix docuseries and in his 2023 memoir Spare.
While this has soured some of his relationships, including with his now estranged brother Prince William, others have remained as strong as ever. This includes his relationship with his two cousins, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, with Eugenie having even flown out to California to spend time with the prince. In an interview with Genting Casino, former royal butler Paul Burrell said he thinks Harry is closest to his cousins out of all his royal relatives despite living across the pond from them.
Burrell said: “I think Harry is closest to the York sisters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. They’re from the same era as him, similar age and the younger members understand how archaic the rules can be – and don’t always agree with them.
“Harry, Eugenie and Beatrice live in the real world now, but most of the other royals don’t. Eugenie and Beatrice have to go out, catch a bus and walk down the street like the rest of us. Harry being such a rebel has made him lose favour with the establishment and the senior royals.
“But the younger royals understand his position with everything and the court this week and support him to a cost – their own cost. The rest of the royals are siding with Charles, William and the court, and they are not agreeing with what Harry is doing.
“There are two different camps forming around Harry and Meghan now.”
Burrell’s comment comes after it was confirmed this week that Harry remains as close as ever to Eugenie, 35, despite rumours of a falling out. The rumours came after Eugenie was spotted at a lunch with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, who has publicly slammed Harry and his wife Meghan Markle numerous times over the last few years.
While it was believed the sighting of Piers and Eugenie at a lunch with friends together caused a rift between the cousins, it has now been confirmed that this is far from the truth.
A source has told People magazine: “The Duke remains close to Princess Eugenie. They always have and always will be.”
Princess Eugenie has refrained from commenting about Prince Harry and their friendship.