Speaking on The Times podcast The Royals with Roya and Kate, royal editor Kate Mansey recalled arriving for a scheduled meeting with Ferguson, only to be surprised by Beatrice’s presence.
“It was talks about talks… So I’d gone to seen Sarah Ferguson, as arranged, to talk about the possibility of doing an interview, and to my great surprise, Princess Beatrice was there,” she said.
“And not just that – she wanted a sit in on the meeting too.”
Beatrice’s Unexpected Role
At first, Mansey assumed the unexpected appearance might lead to an opportunity to interview Beatrice as well. However, it quickly became clear the princess had a different purpose.
Rather than participating casually, Beatrice took on a more structured role—quietly observing, taking notes, and stepping in to clarify her mother’s thoughts throughout the conversation.
“She (Beatrice) sat and she took notes. I thought it was fascinating how she interacted, she’s super smart, she was kind of analysing everything Sarah Ferguson was saying and kind of clarifying,” Mansey explained.
She described how Ferguson shared a stream of ideas about how she wanted to present herself publicly, including her charitable work, with Beatrice acting as a kind of intermediary.
“Fergie was like: ‘I want to come across as this, and I’d like to be known as this, and if we do it I want it to be done like this, and I want you to talk about my work over here with this charity’.
“I was taking it all in, she’s hitting me with this barrage of thoughts and ideas, and it was coming through Beatrice, to the side.
“She (Beatrice) was analysing. ‘You know just to clarify what mummy’s saying…’ She was very organised, she was very thoughtful and processing her mother’s thoughts in real-time and acting as a conduit.”
A Moment Revisited in a New Light
Looking back, Mansey said the encounter now feels more significant, especially following the fallout surrounding the Epstein files and the arrest of Beatrice’s father, Prince Andrew.
“That is interesting now of course, because we wonder how close she (Beatrice) was to any of the business deals that Sarah Ferguson or perhaps her father (Andrew) was doing at the time,” she noted.
She also referenced earlier reports suggesting Beatrice may have been present during early discussions leading up to Andrew’s widely criticised 2019 Newsnight interview.