Why Eugenie And Beatrice's Behavior At Queen Elizabeth's Funeral Still Has People Talking

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, daughters of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson, shared a close bond with their grandmother, and what Eugenie once said about the late monarch's life at her Balmoral residence may bring mourners some comfort.

Queen Elizabeth II spent her final days at Balmoral, and in the documentary "Our Queen At Ninety," Eugenie painted an idyllic picture of the many good times the royal family had there, describing picnics and dinners where Her Majesty actually washed dishes. "I think Granny is the most happy there," she said, per Express. After the queen's tragic death on September 8, Eugenie and Beatrice shared a joint message on the latter's Instagram page, where they reminisced about some of the other sweet memories they made with the woman they knew as "Grannie." It read in part, "Thank you for making us laugh, for including us, for picking heather and raspberries, for marching soldiers, for our teas, for comfort, for joy."

Sadly, Eugenie and Beatrice weren't able to make it to Balmoral to say goodbye to their grandmother before she died, per Hello!, but in the days leading up to the queen's funeral, they dutifully put in appearances at numerous events honoring her life. Yet, while they were seen openly grieving with other family members, their hasty exit at the state funeral raised a few eyebrows.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie had Twitter in a tizzy when they both vacated their seats at Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral at Westminster Abbey at the same time. The two sisters left before their grandmother's coffin was carried down the aisle, per Hello!, and they were not seated together — Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, were on one side of the aisle, while Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, were on the other. When the princesses left, their husbands did not join them.

"Did you notice before end of service mass that Eugenie & Beatrice stepped away from their seats and did not walk out at the end with their respective husbands?" tweeted one observer. Others suggested that the sisters' mother, Sarah Ferguson, looked like she wanted to join them, but didn't. "Looked unscheduled. Beatrice, then Eugenie and nearly Fergie but she was told to stay out," another tweet read. While there were jokes aplenty that they possibly needed to use the ladies' room, there was video evidence to support a different explanation.

"They seemed to be waiting at the Abbey entrance and curtsied when the coffin went past," one person tweeted. The two siblings can be seen doing exactly this in footage of the service, seemingly sending their grandmother off on the last leg of her final journey to Windsor with a demonstration of their deep-felt love and respect for her.

When Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi welcomed their daughter, they picked a meaningful middle name for Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi. As noted by People, Sienna celebrated her first birthday one day before Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. While the little girl might be too young to know this milestone came during a time of mourning for her namesake, it's hard not to imagine that it had an emotional impact on her grieving mother.

Beatrice also paid tribute to the queen when she got married in July 2020. In addition to wearing one of her grandmother's gowns, she borrowed Queen Mary's diamond-encrusted fringe tiara, which is the same sparkly headwear that Her Majesty chose for her own 1947 nuptials, per Harper's Bazaar. As the outlet noted, Beatrice's choices seemed to suggest that she and her grandmother had similar tastes in clothing — and royal bling.

But of course, Elizabeth was much more to Beatrice than just style inspiration. In a statement, she and Princess Eugenie wrote, "You were our matriarch, our guide, our loving hand on our backs leading us through this world. You taught us so much and we will cherish those lessons and memories forever." Beatrice's love for her grandmother was evident after the monarch was laid to rest at St. George's Chapel. Per Express, Beatrice seemed to get emotional outside the chapel, prompting her husband and her mother to do their best to comfort her.

During the vigil at Westminster Hall — where Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was on display for four days — Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were part of a historic moment. Along with Zara Tindall and Lady Louise Windsor, they became the first-ever female grandchildren of a king or queen to stand vigil during a lying in state, per Hello!.

Beatrice and Eugenie are not working royals, but the former earned another distinction when their grandmother died. Per The Telegraph, Beatrice moved up in the line of succession, which elevated her status in a big way: She became one of King Charles III's counsellors of state. This means she could be asked to perform certain duties on the king's behalf if he is ever unable to do so.

However, Charles is reportedly considering removing all non-working royals from their positions as counsellors of state, and if he goes through with getting the law changed, this would mean that Beatrice, her father Prince Andrew, and Prince Harry would lose their eligibility to hold the position. It's unclear how Beatrice would feel about this, but according to another report by The Telegraph, Andrew was trying to convince Elizabeth to make Beatrice and Eugenie working royals before her death. If this is something Beatrice also wanted, she may view Charles' purported plan as another painful loss.