This time last week, bookmakers were convinced that Prince William’s cousin Princess Beatrice or her sister Eugenie would be awarded the honour of being one of Princess Charlotte’s godmothers.
However, not only was neither sister bestowed with the task – they weren’t even invited to the family affair!
The surprise move appears to confirm long-held suspicions that the Duchess of Cambridge doesn’t exactly see eye-to-eye with her cousins-in-law, who have long resented Kate for becoming the royal glamour girl ever since she married into the family.
Their jealousy flared further when it was revealed that Prince Charles planned to “trim down” the core royals, leaving Kate, Wills, and Prince Harry to fly the flag for the younger generation and effectively forcing Beatrice and Eugenie to carve non-regal careers for themselves.
Woman’s Day has previously reported that Beatrice once sarcastically referred to Kate as “the Chosen One,” and tells friends that while she and her sister are the only “blood princesses”, Kate “gets the glamour jobs, the clothing allowance, the limos and the bodyguards, while I have to travel economy”.
According to several sources, Beatrice and Eugenie openly refer to Kate and her sister Pippa as “commoners” who are “vacuous and pushy”.
Beatrice was relegated to the back row on a recent balcony appearance.
The tension between Kate and Beatrice in particular was only too evident on a recent royal family balcony appearance at Buckingham Palace, where Beatrice was placed awkwardly in the background while Kate was front and centre.
While many are quick to side with royal golden girl Kate, some sources are said to feel sorry for Beatrice, who has been intending to announce her engagement to longtime boyfriend Dave Clark for several years, but keeps getting overshadowed Kate, who rapidly produced two heirs to the throne, bumping Prince Andrew’s daughters down the line of succession.
The last time Kate and Beatrice were seen alone and in direct conversation with each other was at Christmas time on the Sandringham Estate in 2011. Since then, they’ve only been photographed in group situations and never addressing each other directly.
The pair were last seen alone together at Christmas in 2011.
When Prince George was born, William’s cousin Zara Phillips was named a godparent, however for Princess Charlotte, there was no royal blood on the list .
With William’s other cousins Lady Louise and James Viscount Severn considered too young for the role, royal insiders predicted Beatrice as a safe bet.
However, as the procession of family and friends entered St Mary Magladene’s Church on the Sandringham Estate for Charlotte’s big day yesterday, tellingly, neither sister nor their father Prince Andrew were anywhere to be seen.
