About one year ago (almost exactly), Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice went to a Notting Hill pub for some kind of celebration. It appeared to be something like a birthday lunch – James Blunt was there, as was Piers Morgan. There were photos of Beatrice and Eugenie saying goodbye to Piers outside the pub and the whole situation seemed very friendly. Piers is a hateful moron, but the York family likes to maintain their relationships with the dregs of the British media, because the Yorks never know when they’ll need a media ally in a pinch. In any case, the photos came and went and few people even remembered them. Then, several weeks ago, Piers claimed that he “caused” a rift between Eugenie and Prince Harry, all because of those photos. It was a whole thing at the start of April – the British tabloids were buzzing with fake gossip about Harry being terribly lonely and how he even fell out with his BFF cousin Eugenie. Well, People Magazine has an update in their big Harry-centric cover story this week:

Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie’s close relationship remains intact, despite recent reports suggesting a falling out.

Sources tell PEOPLE that the cousins’ relationship remains strong, dismissing claims made by Piers Morgan on a recent episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored. The British broadcaster alleged that Harry, 40, went “completely ballistic” after Eugenie, 35, was photographed outside a London pub with a group that included Morgan.

The photos, which showed Eugenie sharing a brief hug with him, sparked speculation given Morgan’s history as an outspoken critic of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

But insiders say there’s no truth to the rumors.

“The Duke remains close to Princess Eugenie. They always have and always will be,” a source tell PEOPLE in this week’s exclusive cover story.

It’s well known that the Duke of Sussex shares a close bond with his first cousin Princess Eugenie. In the 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex fondly recalled a memorable Halloween night out in 2016 with Eugenie and her future husband, Jack Brooksbank — one of the rare glimpses into their early relationship. In home video footage featured in the Netflix series, Harry and Eugenie are seen riding bikes together beneath a canopy of palm trees, while another sweet moment shows Eugenie splashing in the ocean with Prince Archie, 5. Notably, Eugenie is the only member of the royal family who appeared in the Sussexes’ documentary.

[From People]

When I said this week that Harry needs to make his peace with cutting off his toxic family, I wasn’t talking about Eugenie. Harry loves his York cousins. Eugenie has been especially loyal to him, even though she’s gotten tons of pressure from William and Charles to cut ties with Harry. That being said, what I wrote about Charles and William still holds true: as long as Harry maintains connections within the UK, Charles and William will try to harm Harry through the things and people Harry loves. That includes Eugenie.

Also: I’ve seen a surprising number of complaints about this People Mag cover story. That’s really weird, because Harry clearly spoke to them last week and authorized a huge part of the cover story. People’s Harry-centric stories this week have been very sympathetic towards him. I give credit to the new comms officer Meredith – she’s doing one hell of a job, and she hasn’t even been on the job for two full months.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.