I generally think the York princesses are rather aimless, Princess Beatrice more so than Princess Eugenie. Eugenie is married now, she’s worked full-time in art galleries and art-auction houses for years, and she still finds time to do some charity work. We’ve always heard that Eugenie and Beatrice would have liked to work full-time for The Firm, but Charles made sure they would not be allowed to. So they exist as weird princess-hybrids, hanging out with celebrities and living somewhat normal lives, and going on lots of vacations (again, Beatrice does more of that). Obviously, they’re held to different standards than the Duchess of Sussex and Duchess of Cambridge. But I still have to think there were a few raised eyebrows at Buckingham Palace over this one: Eugenie is going to be the first member of the royal family with her own podcast.
Princess Eugenie is set to become the first member of the Royal Family to launch her own podcast. The royal, 29, who is tenth in line to throne, will co-host the show with her close friend Julia De Boinville in the name of their charity, The Anti-Slavery Collective.
‘We are developing a podcast, Freedom United, and we will have a speaker series called Tech Tackles Trafficking,’ she said, speaking on Instagram TV. ‘Now is the time to talk about this, this is already on everyone’s minds. If it isn’t, we are making it on their minds. We are doing this for the person who can’t scream and shout about their situation like we can.’
Tackling modern slavery has long been an important cause for the royal, who first became passionate about it after visiting Women’s Interlink during a 2013 trip to India with her mother, Sarah, Duchess of York. Her new podcast will tackle the issue, which affect more than 40 million people around the world today.
Eugenie and Julia set up The Anti-Slavery Collective in 2017 – an ‘independent collective whose mission is to bring change-makers together to raise awareness for modern slavery as a global epidemic’. The pair are long-term friends who first met when they were both at school.
I don’t listen to as many podcasts as CB, so I have no idea what the market is for these kinds of single-issue advocacy podcasts, but I would think it would be pretty limited? Granted, I bet more people will listen because it’s Princess Eugenie talking. I guess this is the way the palace would okay a princess’s podcast: it has to be issue-driven, charity-driven, advocacy-driven. A princess’s podcast cannot be about hair, makeup, clothes or gossip. It can’t be a murder mystery either! Although I’m sure there are several royals who know where the bodies are buried.
Photos courtesy of WENN and Avalon Red.
I’m petty so I left a comment on her IG on one of her trafficking posts saying how much I respected her and how I wished she’d publicly denounce Epstein.
Y E S !
And it’s not petty. It’s just being honest.
I’m waiting for the blowback from RRs: “IT’S POLITICAL! ROYALS AREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE POLITI… oh wait…. wrong Royal… *crickets*”
And of COURSE she won’t go near Epstein.
^^^^^^^^^^ x1000000
Oh, Maria. Lol! They think most people are dumb and misinformed. I’m sure that comment will be scrubbed.
Go to her dad’s page to make that comment. Stop making Eugenie answerable for her father’s bad deeds.
True
Nope, doesn’t work that way if you live off public funds, and the funds that aren’t public are from your parents who are involved with a sex trafficker. You were extremely upset about Harry going to Camp Google in the post about that. What exactly is so much better about being an “activist” for human trafficking while hiding behind the wealth and influence of a family that has protected and will continue to protect traffickers and the constant posts she makes giving her parents positive press? It’s not like Epstein is the first. Furthermore Epstein has subsidized not only her father but her mother.
And asking her to make a statement on Epstein has nothing to do with holding her accountable for her father. I didn’t ask her to denounce the Duke of York.
Her father should absolutely apologize, lose his title, and go to prison. I would celebrate that. But what I won’t do is ask a person’s child to apologize for or denounce “friends” of her father. She is not the one who should be apologizing, Andrew is. Take that shit to his page.
Sorry again but no. Everyone needs to be talking about this, and she has been subsidized by her parents who in turn have been subsidized by Epstein and in collusion with him for years.
Your comment only applies to situations where said child is independent socially and financially. Not the case with the Yorks.
Also, what the hell kind of viewpoint is this? If my mom or dad was involved in this garbage you can bet I’d be denouncing them and cutting them off very rapidly, as I assume any decent person would. Maybe you do things differently?
And meanwhile, people try to drag Meghan for her “trashy” family who she has cut off, while Kate’s uncle is a human trafficker and Eugenie buries her head in the sand about her parents. It’s unbelievable.
@Maria A child has no say at all in how their parents conduct themselves or where their money comes from. She might be a grown woman now but she is in no way responsible or accountable for her father’s actions.
Whatever Andrew has done, she herself will be a victim of his actions and will be trying to come to terms with the man that he is.
“Eugenie buries her head in the sand about her parents” – try and have even a LITTLE bit of empathy. I can’t imagine it’s easy to come to terms with a parent being called out as a paedophile. I should think that kind of thing takes years.
Maria, I can see you’re a bit of an, ermmm…. fanatic about the Sussexes, but people do drag all those women about all those things. Look at old pages on this site, it’s all people do and mention. Apparently Meghan is responsible for her trash family, Kate is responsible for her uncle, Pippa for her father-in-law, and Eugenie and Bea for their father. Including things done before those women were born.
This site really just doesn’t like women.
Nahema- We are talking about now. Eugenie most certainly does have a say where her subsidization comes from and how to respond to what her parents do.
Guess what? Doing the right thing is hard sometimes. I have more empathy for the girls her father and his friend victimized. And if she wants to stay silent, she can – but this podcast is not the right move.
Eugenie and Beatrice are not responsible for what their father did when they were children, nor for being subsidized by him then. They aren’t responsible for his actions now. But as adults, they have choices about accepting money from his actions and dealing with him – and if you are actively working to end trafficking, a responsibility. Otherwise, if you won’t make a statement, let the voices of the victims be louder than your own.
KittenHeels – on THIS site, Kate’s family is mentioned. I mention Gary Goldsmith because he is where the Middletons acquired the wealth to pay cash for their London flat and subsidize Kate’s “catch William” campaign. If she had nothing to do with him, I wouldn’t mention him. But you won’t find much commentary on that other than here. Meanwhile, there are print articles talking about how courtiers rip Meghan apart for her Markle side of the family. That did not happen with Kate, or Pippa.
Pippa is a private citizen, and I agree she is not responsible for her father-in-law for a number of reasons.
Maria
Eugenie is not responsible for her parents. She was a child when this stuff was going on. She is not responsible for anything Andrew or Sarah may have done. If you really wanna blame a woman in this situation, please go lay your wrath on The Queen, who was FULLY AWARE and did everything in her power to cover for the pedo. Criticizing someone who wants to be part of the solution is not the way.
I do criticize the Queen for this (and quite a bit else, honestly – I love her, but let’s be real). But Eugenie is shining a spotlight on victims of trafficking, it’s her pet cause. Epstein has worked with some of the most high profile men in the world. Why shouldn’t comment on him even if her father weren’t involved in the first place? Jesus Christ, even Stephen Hawking was on Epstein’s island partying. The issues of human trafficking won’t be solved till the concept of the wealthy protecting each other by silence is challenged. The Queen being guilty of that doesn’t make Eugenie any less guilty by pretending it’s not happening and ignoring any wrongdoing on the part of her father.
Furthermore, Eugenie was not a child during at least a portion of these activities.
And you keep skipping over what I said – which is that I wanted her to address Epstein, not her father. She can make a statement about Epstein without mentioning Andrew. It’s possible.
@Maria Epstein loaned Fergie $24,000 to pay her personal assistant. That hardly amounts to the family living off of Epstein for years.
Thinking that Eugenie should address Epstein is not an unreasonable opinion, but trying to smear Eugenie’s character and holding her accountable for her parent’s actions to further that opinion is ridiculous.
Saying she needs to say something about this, partially because of her parents, is not a smear. It’s a fact.
But I guess we should just ignore that too. Good to know that’s how you feel, lol.
It’s funny to me how more than one commenter here was excoriating Meghan about the Camp Google party when we don’t even know if she ever attended with Harry, but Eugenie is apparently totally innocent even though she benefited from her father’s connections and even as an adult was subsidized by his money, but hey, she’s not responsible!! to those same commenters.
White women will always get a pass, I guess.
@Maria – I actually commented that I thought it was a good idea for Harry to go to Google Camp because he needs to network with potential funders to his foundation and that is an ideal setting.
Also, Andrew never accepted money from Epstein. The argument you are trying to make that Eugenie somehow benefited financially from Epstein is factually incorrect. Nor did Eugenie make use of her father’s Epstein connection.
Can you show me the documentation that she was subsidized by him as an adult? She has worked full time since graduating from university and inherited several million dollars from the Queen Mum.
As for white women always get a pass, show me where any commenter on this blog has ever held a woman of color responsible for her parent’s actions.
Mac- if you didn’t say Meghan was a horrible person for Harry maybe going, then you’re clearly not one of the commenters I was talking about.
Because of Freedom of Information amendments etc, we’ll never know how much of this money comes from who, in the family. But there was a large trust set up for Eugenie during the divorce of her parents – and I don’t doubt there is money coming not only from Andrew but the Queen, and Andrew has also campaigned for his daughters to remain working royals- subsidized with public money, and the Crown’s money.
If Epstein gave Fergie money, how do we know he didn’t give Andrew any? Fergie stated the deal with Epstein was done through Andrew and his office.
Even if none of the financials were true, she has a responsibility to say something.
And as for the last paragraph — I have to laugh. How much time do you have?
she has a charity dedicated to end slavery/trafficking & wants to do a podcast for it so, yes, she has to denounce Epstein
@Maria – So now Eugenie had a trust and you aren’t sure where the money came from, but you are certain she benefited financially from Epstein?
Actually, if you read my comments, I never said Eugenie benefited financially from Epstein himself. I said her mother did, and her father possibly. But if she is going to live off money from the Crown, money from people who swept the scandal under the rug, and then try to have a podcast with no sense of appropriateness, yep, that’s a problem.
You seem strangely committed to downplaying this. It’s concerning.
@Maria: I actually agree with many of your points. There should be more financial transparency of the entire BRF, and Andrew is a disgusting pig who should be in prison.
But in NO WAY are his daughters responsible for taking this on. I have nothing but empathy for those girls, knowing what their father did and trying to get through this must take a toll on their relationship with him. I think Andrew is vile but it’s not up to you to decide how his children should treat him. I’m sure they have extremely complicated feelings about it and I don’t envy them right now.
The QUEEN and Charles are the ones to blame here for protecting Andrew. Full stop.
If she is starting a podcast and has a charity about this she needs to address it. It doesn’t have to be a personal angle by involving her father, but it should be addressed.
And it weirds me out how many people on here are completely bypassing empathy for the actual victims in favor of these two adult women.
Maria, that is an incredibly disingenuous argument and I suspect that you know it. Of course we all have empathy for the victims above all; that goes without saying. But this is a post about Eugenie and it’s possible to feel sorry for her too.
No, I don’t know it, because it’s relevant.
As far as sympathy goes, I’m sorry she has to deal with Andrew’s actions personally.
But as far as public actions go, as well as this being her pet cause, she needs to believe victims and address it. Otherwise it’s hot air and more hypocrisy.
@Maria – If empathy is irrelevant, why did you accuse Lorelei of lacking empathy for the children Epstein victimized? You know perfectly well that having empathy for Eugenie does preclude someone from having empathy for his victims.
I think @Maria is failing to understand just how traumatic it must be to have to come to terms with the fact that your father could have done the things that he is accused of. Most people who have a good relationship with their parents, only want to think the best of them. She is going to doubt and question herself so much and that makes her a victim too. It might take her years before she is ready to see him for what he is but that doesn’t mean she is at fault.
@Maria also made a good point about the double standards on this site as much as any other. Kate’s family has been consistently dragged on here, as has Kate and yet a more favourable and rational approach usually happens with discussions surrounding Meghan. The opposite is true for other sites but that doesn’t make one better than the other. The same rules should apply all round and these women aren’t responsible for their relatives.
Don’t you see? By doing this podcast and making this cause a long term focus, Eugenie IS publicly denouncing her father’s activities, his friendship with Epstein, etc. How can you not see this? Furthermore, she has been doing it for years. It’s hard to think of anything more public than what she’s been doing, but if instead of ‘public,’ you meant something specifically confrontational, that would be a horrible betrayal, and it would be shocking and saddening if she did such a thing.
Hear hear! I’m sure she is disgusted by Paedophilia and has nothing to do with her fathers actions. She’s trying to fight it which is wonderful.
To me this looks bad.
Really bad. A “princess by blood” talking about slavery? I cannot buy it sorry.
I’m fine with celebrities and royals taking on causes, it does draw eyes. So this would be no more absurd than most others…except there is an Epstein-sized elephant in the room. Yikes…talk about timing.
I’m thinking the timing is deliberate.
Well people should be talking about modern slavery so why can’t it be her? It’s not like this is biographical. I think it’s great to try to tackle important topic even if it’s difficult rather than something like environment that already has awareness but has the politics issue. This is an issue that actually can be given more awareness to.
Her dad has victimized young girls and her mother borrowed money from a trafficker. This topic actually is part of her immediate family history. These women are still seeking justice so doing a podcast and pretending there is a not huge elephant in the room is mind blowingly dumb.
So no she should not be doing a podcast about this unless she’s going to raise money for the women pursing Epstein and her dad. It’s a huge conflict of interest.
Eugenie is not responsible for her parents crimes and shady behavior. This is an issue she is passionate about and she is using her position to give a platform to a very serious issue.
If anyone needs to raise money for Epstein’s victims it’s Clinton, Trump, Dershowitz, Spacey, Maxwell, and Wexner.
Women aren’t responsible for the crimes of men. Stop demanding things of her, and instead direct that vitriol where it belongs: Andrew.
Her mother got a loan from Epstein so this goes far beyond what her father has done. It’s not like Eugenie ever was financially independent from her parents so going on about a topic like this and completely ignoring her conflict of interest here is unacceptable. And if she’s going to be silent about what her father did, then she should be silent altogether. She doesn’t need to do this podcast since she is not adding to the conversation at all.
It seems to me that while her family have been a bit part of the problem, she is trying to be part of the solution and many of the comments here are just scary.
Nahema – Asking people who have done bad things and colluded with bad things to publicly acknowledge that is scary, to you?
Eugenie can have a podcast if she wants, but she’ll never be part of the solution till she acknowledges that her own lifestyle is funded in part by her parents who have not only colluded with Epstein but borrowed money from him, and that the Queen has even covered up his activities. She will never admit this publicly though, so she will never really be part of the solution. High profile and rich men will continue to use underage girls like objects.
@Nic919 So you are saying Eugenie has no agency because her father is a terrible person.
She is involved in modern slavery. I am more interested in the transatlantic slave trade, we need to still talk about that.
The caucasity of talking about modern slavery all the while not mentioning the benefits that SHE has had because of the transatlantic slave trade.
I am giving her some side-eye for this.
It’s probably my bias, but I sense a hint of Meghanism at work …
Interesting that she would so publicly take up this cause right as evidence links her father, Prince Andrew, with Jeffrey Epstein. Quite a coincidence.
She’s been publicly working for this cause for years. Come on now.
I think this is great, modern day slavery is a massive problem that often gets swept under the rug. There are more slaves today than any other time in history.
Are you counting the millions who died between capture and their final destinations?
Just curious where the numbers are coming from…
https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/19/world/global-slavery-estimates-ilo/index.html
Huh. Seems weird to me, maybe I don’t get it? I’m probably not going to be checking out her work.
How can you campaign for the Anti Slavery collective and now start a podcast on the subject of slavery when your own father (a public person and Prince of the realm) is so closely affiliated with a known pedophile and sex trafficker….
The optics for this are HORRIBLE. The York’s cannot possibly be expecting that there will be no blow-back. This also makes me think that there is either a certain amount of cognitive dissonance emanating from Eugenie or she is just tone deaf to her father’s antics. Either way this is just terrible.
I agree the optics for this are just terrible. Wow.
Or maybe the optics are purposeful. maybe she is horrified by her father’s antics too and this is her polite, palace sanctioned way of taking action against that. Harry, former big game hunter, is positioning himself as a wildlife conservationist… so whether it’s hypocrisy, or a new generation rejecting the morals that surrounded their youth, or purely optics in a bid to stay relevant… it’s not without precedent in this family.
Yes this is where the optics argument actually matters here. Her father partook of the services of the trafficking victims and remains unrepentant. And she benefitted on some level from the loan Epstein provided her mother. Until she acknowledges this, she really needs to stay away from this topic.
I don’t think a podcast is a bad idea otherwise, but she and Beatrice should not be near this topic at all. I also don’t think the topic is a bad one if her father wasn’t linked to Epstein and his victims. This is a mess.
Eugenie did not benefit from the loan. Fergie was so broke she could not pay her personal assistant and borrowed $24,000 to cover his salary. If Fergie was that broke do you really believe she was financially contributing to her children?
Also, you need to look at this from Eugenie’s perspective. She and her entire family are the constant subject of fake gossip stories and tabloid hits. Andrew has not been arrested, prosecuted, or even called to testify against Epstein. Rightly or wrongly, she will likely not believe this story until Andrew is formally implicated. Her perspective on gossip is very different from ours.
THIS!
I’m with those who think that this is an important cause, but that the timing of this podcast and Andrew’s connection to Epstein just make it look…..bad.
And yeah, can you imagine if Meghan started a podcast??
@Becks if Meghan started a podcast, we wouldn’t even be here having this conversation because the internet would have combusted by now.
Maybe Eugenie can interview one of the girls who were forced to have sex with her old man.
I can understand that it must be horrible to live with the knowledge that your own father is a sexual predator, especially when the WHOLE WORLD KNOWS. This might be her way of atoning for her father’s sins. Or it could just be another example of Windsor hypocrisy. Who knows?
Yes, and it just seems so obvious that they’re circling the wagons to protect Andrew, doesn’t it?
Good for her! I love that she is shedding light on an uncomfortable subject…that has a link to her dad. It IS a global epidemic and the more awareness, the better!
I have an idea for her first episode – Epstein (and her father) and modern sex slavery.
I don’t have an issue with this. Eugenie is not her father and she can’t help that he’s a shady douche. To have her answer for his crimes is unfair. And I don’t expect her to ever publicly denounce him while QE is still alive. She’s not going to start a war within her own family, especially given just how precarious her position in that family as a non working royal.
I like to think this is her own way of calling out her father’s shadiness without publicly confronting him. At any rate I think it’s great she’s taken up this cause and even if the podcast isn’t super successful, it’s a great initiative.
Agreed. I’ll reserve judgment on the podcast itself for after I listen to it. And yes, I plan to tune in for one or two episodes before I make a final call. This is a hard place for Eugenie to be in. She’s spoken about her desire to bring awareness to human trafficking and human slavery for years but she’s in a position where she can’t just denounce her own father publicly. The palace and granny would never have it. This is probably her way of speaking out as best she can without directly saying “My dad is a gross, horrible man.” Hopefully she does come out publicly after QEII dies and everything changes when Chuck becomes king.
Her mother borrowed money from a sex trafficker so what about her position on that?
She sure as hell CAN denounce what her parents have done. But she isn’t going to, as that would cut off the perks like living in KP and all the other hoopla/jewels/”fame” she enjoys as a “blood princess”, and she sure as hell doesn’t want to cut off that gravy train. Yes, she has her inheritance from TQ Mother, and is awaiting what she’ll get from TQ/DoE’s passing. She’s not going to give all of that up. Sorry, but no pass from me.
Everybody doesn’t need a podcast.
Lol, Laura. Now that’s a refreshing comment.
Eugenie is a hypocrite. She’s happy to accept all the privileges she gets through her father and celebrate her parents while distancing herself from their bad press through this campaign. This is a cynical move and the timing is not a coincidence.
Eugenie wants to be a working Royal and is low-key campaigning for it.
@Hope, Eugenie’s campaigning has been very noticeable for the last two years. I think she is both campaigning and getting people used to the idea of her being a working royal once Charles is gone. I have a feeling that the Cambridges would readily welcome more working royals (to, after all, do the work) as long as the spotlight is not drawn away from their lazy as#es.
Mary…Lol! You’re not pulling any punches.
This seems really stupid on her part. Way to highlight the Epstein scandal and your families involvement? People wouldn’t call hypocrisy if they didn’t have a reason and a podcast on sex trafficking while your family profits from a sex trafficker????? Talk about brainless.
In all due respect, I think she is BRAVE. I mean, nobody, especially someone who has actually worked in protected yet semi “real” world jobs couldn’t be that stupid, right?
Where are all the people willing to condemn Meghan and Harry for attending a PARTY? The Google thing was total hypocritical bullshit. But the folks who think that Harry and Meghan should be banished from decent society for attending a party, or not choosing the ‘right’ people for her magazine, or wearing a Gucci dress, should be up in arms.
Crickets.
@kerwood,
Where are all those people? Well, a couple of them are right here defending Eugenie. No surprise there. Why these people complain about how much any of one the BRF spends makes little sense to me. They prop up TQ and certain royals like they’re their betters, but know damn well she is filthy rich and has always made sure her close relatives live in luxury. But, they hate Meghan, so they conjure up any excuse they can to “other” her and keep moving the goalpost so that, in their minds, she never fits in, she is “unsuitable”, she never “conforms”, she never follows “protocol”, she never spends according their rules, and she’ll never be ‘pristine’ enough by their standards for ‘their’ royals.
Kerwood and Olenna, their silence is deafening. If this was Meghan, they would change they tune.
A royal has a podcast?!! How tacky!…right?
Maria…I totally agree with you. I’ve always said if my Mom did something wrong, she is still WRONG. Perhaps Eugenie should have found another podcast to devote her attention to. It makes her look hypocritical with the questions surrounding her father.
Ahh…modern slavery…that includes sex trafficking no? Maybe she can ask her dad about it.
If my memory is right Eugenie started the human trafficking charity not long after stories started circulating about her father and Epstein. Once again the stories have started and a few weeks ago she was in West. Abbey in connection with this charity and now is starting a podcast. Personally I believe the BRF is making a conscious decision to act as if Epstein and Andrew did not happen, despite there being photos of Andrew with Virginia Roberts and others of Epstein plus the madam on a royal residence.
However good luck to Eugenie with her podcast. I believe she is following a concocted plan from the RF and will soon be having her mother as guest vocally denouncing sex trafficking and peodophilia. After all they know nothing is going to happen to Andrew, and personally i would not be surprised to hear Epstein has commited suicide and that will be the end of the whole issue.
When I am not in my escapism mood, I look at the RF and think nasty, nasty secrets …. just look at how close Jimmy Savile was to some senior members of the RF !!!
I actually met her. She came to my job at a domestic violence shelter (I am unable to disclose the location due to privacy concerns). it was years ago, she walks it how she talks it. I recall wearing my best dress in preparation. The residents were so emotional to meet her & she really listened to them. these stories are grim and hard to hear, let it be heard! Good for her!!!
That’s wonderful to hear, thanks!
I rember her doing that vising shelters in NY, with little to no media attention, Safe Horizon was one of the shelters I believe she visited during that time
For information purposes – I believe the law in the UK is different from the US in that if a person has been charged and is awaiting trial, or during a trial any public comment which may prejudice the outcome of said trial is not allowed. Any made would quite possibly be considered contempt of court.
Whilst I know Epstein is awaiting trial in the US it does not surprise me that no comments have come from the UK.
This is messed up
She is not responsible for her father.