(Left) attends the Tate Modern 25th Anniversary Fundraising Gala on June 25, 2025 in London; (Right) Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral at Westminster Cathedral on Sept. 16, 2025.Credit : Dave Benett/Getty; Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

Princess Eugenie broke her tradition of posting birthday tributes on Instagram amid scrutiny surrounding her parents’ recent scandals
Eugenie has been quiet online since November 2025, when she shared about mentoring through King Charles’ foundation
The princess and her sister, Princess Beatrice, face questions about their royal roles following their father Andrew’s recent arrest

Princess Eugenie is ringing in her birthday quietly and privately amid the latest scandals engulfing her parents, the former Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

Andrew and Ferguson’s younger daughter turned 36 on March 23 but broke a recent tradition by not posting on her personal Instagram page to mark the milestone.

Eugenie has commemorated her birthday for the last two years with social posts relating to her role as a mother to sons, August, 5, and Ernest, 2, whom she shares with husband Jack Brooksbank. However, she skipped the Instagram tradition this year amid the spotlight on her parents. The former Duke and Duchess of York both appear in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Jan. 30 dump of Epstein files (which does not connote wrongdoing), with scrutiny intensified by Andrew’s unprecedented arrest on Feb. 19.

Princess Eugenie has been quiet online since November 14, 2025, when she shared an upbeat Instagram video about attending a mentorship event with one of King Charles’ charities.

In May 2025, The King’s Foundation announced that Eugenie was joining a cohort of mentors for the foundation’s new “35 under 35” network, giving her a formal role with one of her uncle’s philanthropies. After the mentorship session in November, Eugenie wrote online that it was an “inspiring morning” and she was “looking forward” to supporting the network’s members as they progressed their careers and crafts through The King’s Foundation.

Princess Eugenie was most recently seen in public on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25, marking her first public appearances following her father Andrew’s historic arrest on Feb. 19.

The former Duke of York’s younger daughter was photographed at Hagen Espresso Bar in London’s Notting Hill neighborhood on Tuesday, Feb. 24, with her husband, Jack, 39, and then stepped out solo for a shake in London the following day.

Princess Eugenie in central London on Feb. 25, 2026.BACKGRID

Commenting on her coffee date with Jack, a source told PEOPLE, “She was chatting away with someone she knows and seemed very relaxed. It was all very casual.”

“She was laughing and joking,” they added. “She looked happy and at ease — not like someone trying to hide.”

It’s been a rocky few months for Andrew, Sarah and their daughters, as King Charles stripped his brother Andrew’s royal titles in October 2025 as his Epstein links came under renewed scrutiny. In late January, the U.S. Department of Justice released over three million additional pages relating to the investigation of Epstein, an American financier and convicted sex offender who died while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges in August 2019, and the dossier shed new light on the apparent extent of the relationships between Epstein, Andrew and Ferguson. (Being named in the Epstein files does not connote wrongdoing and neither Andrew nor Ferguson have been accused of any wrongdoing or charged in connection with the revealing release.)

Andrew’s ties to Epstein set his step back from his role royal in motion in 2019 following a BBC interview in which he discussed their relationship, and Queen Elizabeth stripped her second son of his military titles and patronages in January 2022, after a judge rejected his attempt to have Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit against him dismissed. Andrew settled with Giuffre out of court for an undisclosed sum and has strenuously denied any wrongdoing, with the removal of his princely title seen as a final blow.

PEOPLE understood that the royal status of Andrew’s daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, remained “wholly unaffected” when his royal titles were removed, and the sisters also retained their places in the line of succession to the throne, plus their royal residences.

Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice, Sarah Ferguson and Princess Eugenie attend a wedding in December 2012.David Hartley/Shutterstock

The princesses notably now face an uncertain future following the arrest of their father and renewed scrutiny of their mother’s links to Epstein, posing questions about where the sisters will now fit in the royal family.

A family friend told PEOPLE in a recent cover story that Beatrice and Eugenie are clinging to their royal clout amid the turmoil, explaining,  “They want to hold on to their royal status. It’s their identity.”

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice on Christmas at Sandringham, Dec. 25, 2025.Henry NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty

Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice are not working royals like their cousin Prince William and instead balance private careers with charity work. The princesses are frequent fixtures at royal family events, and King Charles, 77, is said to remain “very fond” of his nieces amid the turmoil.