Princess Beatrice’s ‘puzzling’ reaction to Prince Andrew memorial appearance as Eugenie 'turned' her gaze

Princess Beatrice is said to have had a rather “puzzling” reaction to Prince Andrew’s memorial appearance whilst Princess Eugenie reportedly "turned" her gaze.

• Princess Beatrice and Eugenie apparently had very different body language signals when their father arrived at Prince Philip’s memorial.
• According to a body language expert, Beatrice appeared "overwhelmed" whilst Eugenie seemed to “turn” her gaze to the front. 
• This royal news (opens in new tab) comes as we revealed Prince Harry’s ‘insult’ to the Queen with noticeable absence on her day of heartache (opens in new tab).

Princess Beatrice and her younger sister Princess Eugenie were amongst the members of The Firm (opens in new tab) who paid tribute to the late Duke of Edinburgh at a service of thanksgiving on March 29th. Whilst the loss of the Queen’s beloved husband didn’t change the line of succession (opens in new tab), it changed the monarchy as we know it. At the service, which included several of the Queen's hidden messages (opens in new tab), his family displayed huge emotion as they reflected on his remarkable life. 

Beatrice in particular was spotted crying soon after Prince Andrew arrived with the Queen. The Duke of York and monarch walked down Westminster Abbey together and it seems the Princesses displayed very different reactions…  

Opening up to The Mirror (opens in new tab), body language expert Judi James has suggested that the sisters had very interesting, yet contrasting responses to Andrew’s arrival with their grandmother. And it might not surprise some fans who’d spotted Princess Beatrice in floods of tears (opens in new tab) that Judi believes the older sister’s response was to be “overwhelmed”. 

"We saw how Beatrice became overwhelmed by tears after her father arrived with his mother and the Queen had taken her place in front of her, but Beatrice’s response as he first honed into view was equally shocking and more than a little puzzling,” Judi explained to the publication.

Instead of appearing upset like her sister, Judi alleged that Eugenie seemed to “turn” her gaze to the front of the Abbey.

"As the Queen and Andrew first walked level with the royals, Eugenie did appear to glance at an angle that meant she could see her father in her peripheral vision. After spotting him though she appeared to turn her gaze forward,” the expert claimed.

"Beatrice, however, seemed to already have her face hidden by her order of service. She performed this total face-covering, shielding ritual after her tears once the Queen and her father were in position, but hiding her face as they walked in would have sent out a very complicated message.”

Reflecting on Beatrice’s timing, Judi added, “For everyone aware of the sisters’ tendency to loyalty this would have been seen as hiding tears of relief and joy at what looked like his re-appearance in public but when we face-hide we can also suggest shame, making this a risky public gesture.”

The choice to have Andrew walk with the Queen has since attracted attention and controversy. His appearance at the service came a month after it was reported that he'd settled out-of-court with Virginia Giuffre in his civil case. Neither Princess Eugenie or Beatrice have publicly spoken about Andrew's settlement.

Whilst some have suggested that the Queen snubbed Prince Charles and Prince William (opens in new tab) when it came to her third son’s role at the memorial. The monarch reportedly told them it was her “final decision” that Andrew would walk with her.

Either way, the sight of Prince Andrew and the Queen walking together reportedly seems to have evoked intriguing reactions from his daughters during the emotional service.