Prince Andrew’s Family ‘Blindsided’ By Loss Of Royal Titles – Find Out Who Had A ‘Meltdown’!

We are now one week out from Prince Andrew‘s huge announcement that he would be giving up his titles. No more His Royal Highness, not more Duke of York. Just plain old Prince Andrew now.

You know, still a prince, we guess. For the moment. We’ll see what Prince William has in store some day. But for now, it was reportedly his brother, King Charles III who forced the royal family’s black sheep to finally face some consequences for his alleged participation in pal Jeffrey Epstein‘s underage sex trafficking ring.

Related: Virginia Giuffre Describes ‘Prime Minister’ Who Tortured Her In Posthumous Memoir!

But he isn’t the only one affected by being further pushed out. His other fam are right there with him in the royal stockades. And according to the latest leaks, they had no idea it was coming!

A royal insider told DailyMail.com on Friday that there was a “summit” of the York clan — or whatever we’re supposed to call them now — at their Royal Lodge in Windsor. They say Sarah Ferguson, who has long stood by Andrew despite his sins, took it the hardest. She had to lose the title of “Duchess”, which she’s kept all these years, nearly four decades, despite their divorce.

Damn, who would have thought the other Fergie would have been closer to a real Duchess in the end?

The source claimed Fergie had “gone into a meltdown” last week when Andrew told her she was losing her Duchessdom. She “was wailing that he shouldn’t do it.” But like we said, word is he wasn’t exactly given a choice. It was this or much worse.

But at least Sarah had some kind of heads up that she was on the chopping block. Their now-grown princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were totally “blindsided” by the announcement, per the insider! Whoa! He couldn’t even man up to tell his daughters before putting out the announcement?! That’s messed up.

Instead, the source explains, they set up their family “summit” for Monday. Beatrice, who has been in her father’s corner more than almost anyone else, was seen leaving the crisis meeting looking upset and frazzled. And the insider confirms this was a distressing family talk.

A worse sign? Eugenie refused to even attend the meeting! They couldn’t even get the whole family of four, who used to be so close, to an emergency meeting. As the insider put it:

“The Royal Lodge ‘summit’ wasn’t a happy occasion and the family, once a strong unit, is fractured.”

Beatrice and Eugenie have certainly been seen less with their father since his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview, in which he attempted to convince the country of his innocence… and ended up doing the opposite. Next to accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, he looked like a babbling mess, and it seemed everyone in the world who didn’t have an opinion suddenly was firmly a guilty vote. So the girls spent more time with their mother.

But now Fergie has her own Epstein connections coming out! Not only was she apparently good friends with the billionaire pedophile, who secretly continued their relationship after his initial investigation in the late 2000s, she allegedly celebrated him getting out of prison! He wrote in a recently unearthed email that she came to visit him “with her two daughters in tow”!

Not only are Beatrice and Eugenie associated through their parents, now suddenly people want to know if they knew Jeffrey Epstein! And how well! Considering their ages at the time, 19 and 20, it’s horrifying their mother brought them to see him, if it’s even true. And extra awful after hearing Giuffre’s account of how Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell joked about her age in relation to theirs!

So yeah, no wonder the princesses aren’t standing with the family anymore! Seems to us Eugenie was smart not to even show up. Just keep as far away as possible.

One expert took that strategy one step further, advising Beatrice and Eugenie to give up their princess titles altogether! Majesty magazine editor Ingrid Seward, who literally wrote the book on Fergie, suggested:

“Giving up their titles would give them freedom from their parents, stop them being tarred with the same brush, and be a clear sign that they want to make their own way in the world. I think people would hugely respect them for it and I think, ultimately, they would be happier.”

That’s one way to look at it. Another is that Andrew and Fergie are falling fast — and the best way to keep their distance might actually be clinging to the ladder! Let cousin Will know they’re on his side and willing to stand by him even as he ousts their parents. Just a thought.

What do YOU think Beatrice and Eugenie should do??

[Image via MEGA/WENN.]