She grew up sharing a close bond with her cousins – but as Zara Tindall continues to witness her uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s downfall following his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, it remains unclear whether she will be able to publicly stand by Princess Beatrice and Eugenie.

The trio, who have a ‘sisterly bond’, have enjoyed countless warm moments with one another at public events, oftentimes spotted warmly chatting and linking arms at everything from royal engagements to Cheltenham and the Grand Prix.

All seemed well just a few months ago, during Christmas at Sandringham, as Beatrice beamed as she hugged her niece Lena, seven, while catching up with Zara.

Elsewhere, Princess Anne‘s daughter wrapped up her cousin Eugenie in a huge hug at Ascot last summer.

The cousins also have a strong bond outside of the Firm’s duties, and Eugenie has shared a myriad of photos and selfies with her cousin on her social media. So close are the pair that they even held a joint Christening in 2021 – after Eugenie’s baby boy Augustus and Zara’s third child, Lucas, were born within just weeks of one another.

But the recent Epstein revelations create a tenuous dilemma for Zara – who appeared to be one of the first members of the Firm to show the York sisters support by reportedly inviting them for dinners and sleepovers at Gatcombe park while the scandal continued.

‘This has been a fraught period for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. They will not be attending the traditional Easter Service with the royal family at Windsor on Sunday, which is one of the highlights of the royal year,’ royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail.

‘However, indications are that, obviously depending on any further revelations from the Epstein files which could be embarrassing, they might return to royal life sooner than expected. We know the King is fond of them.

‘Their cousin, Zara, will be especially happy if this happens. She will miss them at the Easter Service.’

‘Under the relentless media spotlight with both of their parents in disgrace, Beatrice and Eugenie have undoubtedly been struggling,’ he added. ‘Zara and her husband Mike have been extremely supportive.

‘Also they are both, like Zara’s indefatigable mother Princess Anne, down to earth and popular enough to be unswayed by public opinion.’

Zara’s affections for the pair are clearly strong. However, should Beatrice and Eugenie’s association with their parents continue to impact the Firm’s reputation, royal commentators have suggested Zara may have to ‘side’ with William – who she is equally close with.

‘It should be emphasised that Zara and Mike’s first loyalty is to the institution of monarchy and its future,’ Richard added.

‘They are reportedly in the “inner circle” of the future reign of Prince William and were at William’s side when he hosted a Buckingham Palace Garden Party without Catherine in 2021.

‘They are popular with the public, who are divided on whether Beatrice and Eugenie should have titles and have a future as non-working royals. What is pivotal, whatever the future holds, is that their morale should be kept high during this heartbreaking time.’

As well as being loyal to the Royal Family, Zara is also known for her equally warm connection to her cousin William – the heir to the throne.

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She grew up sharing a close bond with her cousins – but as Zara Tindall continues to witness her uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s downfall following his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein , it remains unclear whether she will be able to publicly stand by Princess Beatrice and Eugenie

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The trio have enjoyed countless warm moments with one another at public events, oftentimes spotted warmly chatting and linking arms at everything from royal engagements to Cheltenham and the Grand Prix

In 2023, the Prince of Wales revealed that Zara’s victory in equestrian eventing was the only occasion he’d been moved to tears while watching sports.

During the discussion at Windsor Castle, father-of-three William, 41, said: ‘The only time I’ve ever cried when watching sport was when Zara won I think it was the European championship.’

The admission came earlier this month when he took part in The Good, The Bad and The Rugby, a podcast hosted by rugby stars including Zara’s husband Mike Tindall.

‘I was down in Exmoor at the time camping. We were all huddling around the phone watching it. She was there, she was blubbing away, the flag was going up. I was in pieces.’

Also taking part in the podcast, recorded at Windsor Castle, were William’s wife, Kate and Zara’s mother – William’s aunt – Princess Anne, herself an accomplished equestrian.

Continuing the discussion, Kate said: ‘I can remember because you came back and said I’ve never been so proud of anyone.’

Their close bond comes as no surprise given that William, along with his brother Harry, were raised in Gloucestershire, just a few miles from where Zara and her brother Peter Phillips grew up.

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All seemed well just a few months ago, during Christmas at Sandringham, as Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi beamed as she hugged her niece Lena, seven, while catching up with Zara

The four royal cousins were often spotted chatting and joking at royal events.

William has previously revealed how it was ‘hard to keep a straight face’ when sitting opposite his cousins in church.

Born just 13 months apart, Zara was reportedly a great comfort to William after his mother Diana’s death in 1997.

Though she may not be a working royal and has experienced less media attention than William and Harry, the royal cousins have become protective of each other over time.

In a Channel 5 documentary, Zara & Anne: Like Mother Like Daughter, Victoria Arbiter said: ‘For William in particular, trust is everything so when you’ve got a cousin that understands what it is to be a member of the Royal Family, but they don’t have the same pressures associated with it, they can be a tower of strength and support.

‘It’s Zara’s loyalty and total dedication to her family that has made her such an asset to the cousins who have had to endure the negative side of royal life.’

Such is the closeness between the cousins they are all part of a WhatsApp group where they exchange messages on upcoming events and family news.

‘Me, my brother and then a few of Zara’s side like her brother Pete [Phillips] and the cousins are on WhatsApp groups,’ her husband Mike once revealed.

‘I wouldn’t say we’re cutting edge, but it’s just easier for some reason on WhatsApp.’

He added on a separate occasion: ‘It’s just what you do to try and set up get-togethers and we are going to something that is the same.

And Mike Tindall and William may seem like an unlikely pairing, but the two are often snapped sharing a joke at royal events – and can’t resist a hug when they see each other in public.

William, heir to the throne, was educated at Eton before completing his degree at St Andrews.

He prefers football to rugby, which was more his brother Harry’s sport.

Banker’s son Tindall attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, in Wakefield, becoming a professional rugby player for Bath at the age of 18.

Yet the pair are also hands-on fathers and enjoy catching up at the polo or the races, where they often give each other warm greetings like the one caught on camera.

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The cousins also have a strong bond outside of the Firm’s duties, and Eugenie has shared a myriad of photos and selfies with her cousin on her social media

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So close are the pair that they even held a joint Christening in 2021 – after Eugenie’s baby boy Augustus and Zara’s third child, Lucas, were born within just weeks of one another

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As well as being loyal to the Royal Family, Zara is also known for her equally warm connection to her cousin William – the heir to the throne

William and Mike have been photographed looking pally at several public engagements, with the ex-England rugby player going along to support the royal at polo matches in the past.

It’s clear the pair are on such good terms that Mike felt comfortable enough to poke fun at the future King in a podcast, saying he calls the heir to the throne ‘One Pint Willy’ because ‘he is not the best of drinkers’.

Both have also been with their wives for almost 20 years – Tindall was 25 when he and Zara were introduced at the 2003 World Cup. William and Kate met at university.

It appears as though Zara and Kate both get along nicely too, with there being many photos of the couples hanging out as a quad and the two mothers captured giggling away together or deep in conversation at events. One touching moment between the duo was at the 2012 Olympics, when Kate was spotted waving enthusiastically at Zara, who won a Silver medal as part of the eventing team.

Since controversy about Beatrice and Eugenie’s parents continued to erupt in recent years, experts have suggested William is likely to want to distance himself from the York sisters.

Elsewhere, Beatrice showed ‘awkwardness and dislike’ towards the Prince and Princess of Wales following the Christmas Day service at Sandringham, a body language expert has recently claimed.

She had accompanied members of the Royal Family for the traditional walkabout and service at St Magdalene Church.

While others, including Zara and Mike Tindall, were seen happily chatting to William and Kate, Beatrice’s display was, according to UK body language judge Judi James, on the ‘awkward’ side.

It comes after Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were told they cannot join their family at Royal Ascot this year amid concerns about the escalating scandal involving the House of York and their ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Sources say the sisters, whose names appear several times in the Epstein files, will not take their seats in the Royal Box at the prestigious horse-racing event in June, nor can they join senior royals for the Royal Procession.

The move is said to have ‘completely blindsided’ Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, who are already reeling from the arrest of their father last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

But perhaps signs of the York sisters’ growing distance from William and Kate were evident long before news of Ascot.

Speaking to the Daily Mail about Beatrice’s Christmas Day appearance, Judi said: ‘There is a type of smile known as a performed or applied rictus that is a wide smile that appears effortful and not prompted by authentic pleasure.

‘Often the wider the smile, the more negative the emotions being masked, which could be why Beatrice’s smile here, as she waits for the Waleses to go first, hints at what could be awkwardness or dislike.

‘She begins in something of a huddle with her sister, where the smiles could suggest some conversation through gritted teeth as they watch William, Kate and the children take the lead.

‘The sisters seem to decide to shuffle off together to the left, where they stand beaming their smiles at the group in front in a watchful rather than sociable way.

‘Beatrice’s glance down at the Waleses hints at some quiet impatience or discomfort at having to hang around dutifully and compliantly until they move on.

‘There is no sign of any socialising between them here or any intent of catching Kate’s eye to make the smiles more sociably friendly.’

The decision followed a claim from royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams that William and Kate ‘won’t’ miss the York sisters if the future king has to ‘take the hard line’ with his cousins.

Their relationship has long been strained, but the latest revelations from the Epstein files could cause it to deteriorate further.

The most recent tranche of Epstein documents has raised serious questions about how much the former Duke and Duchess of York’s daughters knew of their parents’ corrupt dealings with the paedophile financier.

One email sent by Epstein in 2015 – after he was convicted for soliciting sex from a girl under 18 – boasted to a friend that Beatrice ‘liked’ him.

It also emerged that Beatrice helped advise her mother on how to placate Epstein after Fergie called him a paedophile while apologising for accepting a £15,000 bailout from the convicted sex offender in a 2011 interview. She also played a key role in facilitating her father’s 2019 Newsnight interview.

William must now evaluate his relationship with Beatrice and Eugenie, and assess whether they have a future within the Firm – a decision which will no doubt be fuelled by the pre-existing tension in his relationship with the York sisters.

‘It may fall to William to make a decision on the future of Beatrice and Eugenie. Neither are reportedly particularly close to him or to Catherine,’ Richard added.

‘The fact that Beatrice, when 20, and Eugenie, aged 19, visited Epstein in Florida just after his release from prison with their rapacious mother is alarming. They must have known who they were visiting and how inappropriate this was. He was under house arrest.

‘One of the most bizarre aspects of the files is the way Sarah Ferguson seems to regard Epstein as part of her extended family. In 2010, she even told Epstein of Eugenie’s “s*******” weekend.

‘There is obvious sympathy for the predicament of the sisters; mention in the files does not denote wrongdoing.

‘The King reportedly regards their work-life balance, where they both do some charitable work alongside their careers and families but are not working royals, as admirable.

‘William, it is reported, may well take a hard line when he becomes king. It depends on how affected the Royal Family is by what happens subsequently.

‘If this happens, it may be impossible for the Royal Family to move forward with any members of the York family attached to it.

‘William and Catherine do not appear to have close ties with the sisters and would probably not miss them.’

Richard added: ‘Although the Waleses may not be close to the sisters, we know that Eugenie is notably close to Harry.

‘At one time it was thought that she had a role to play in helping reconciliation between the Royal Family and the Sussexes. That is now highly unlikely.’