Princesses Beatrice And Eugenie Open Up About Constant Online Criticism

It wasn’t so long ago that we discovered Princess Beatrice’s private Instagram account, @beayork, when celebrity friend Karlie Kloss tagged her in an Instagram Stories post which was a screenshot of her reaction to Karlie’s engagement news.

And we’re starting to understand why that account isn’t open to the public, and why her sister Eugenie only created a public Instagram account @princesseugenie this year. The royal pair have been opening up about what it’s really like to be in the public eye in an interview with Ellie Pithers for British Vogue.

Styled by Venetia Scott, Beatrice and Eugenie were photographed by Sean Thomas for the piece where they reveal how much headlines about their appearances affect them.

‘There was a horrible article that had been written about Beatrice and she got really upset,’ Eugenie said. ‘We were just about to step out and she had a bit of a wobble and cried. I was looking after her. And then about an hour later, I had a wobble and started crying and Bea was there for me.’

The pair are often ridiculed for their sartorial choices, who can forget THAT Phillip Treacy pretzel hat Beatrice wore to Kate and William’s wedding in 2011?

Recently the pair’s style has become more toned down – they donned tasteful headbands designed by London milliners Bundle MacLaren at Meghan and Harry’s wedding this year –much to our disappointment.

Princess Beatrice divulged that she finds balancing royal life and her personal one difficult - unlike Princes William and Harry, there aren’t strict rules about what the minor royals can and can’t do.

‘It’s hard to navigate situations like these because there is no precedent, there is no protocol. We are the first: we are young women trying to build careers and have personal lives, and we’re also princesses, and doing all of this in the public eye.’

Beatrice, who is VP of partnerships and strategy for a technology company and Eugenie, an associate director at art gallery Hauser & Wirth, are both keen to stress they aren’t privileged princesses, but hard-working relatable women.

‘We want to show people who we are as working, young, royal women, but also not to be afraid of putting ourselves out there,’ said Eugenie. ‘Nowadays it’s so easy to recoil when you see a perfect image on Instagram – but it’s important that it’s real. We’re real.’

With Eugenie’s wedding coming up later this year, the bride-to-be is in full planning mode; ‘I’m not stressed at all. It’s nerve-racking because you want it to be perfect, but then you realise that you’re going to be with the person you love forever and nothing else really matters.’

She also revealed that her wedding, like her home with Jack Brooksbank, will be plastic free.

READ MORE: Let's Give Princess Eugenie's Style A Round Of Applause