Princess Eugenie Vs. Princess Beatrice: The Public's Favorite York Daughter Is Clear

Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice are the children of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, the Duke and Duchess of York. They seem to get along very well, and the stylish sisters have even stepped out in coordinated outfits over the years. But what does the public think of the princesses? It turns out, one is slightly more popular than the other. Although Beatrice is often seen as more relatable than her fellow royals, she wasn't crowned the favorite. In poll results shared by GB News, a whopping 25% of the 2,053 respondents said that they disliked Beatrice. By contrast, only 24% of the respondents disliked Eugenie, making her the favorite of the two. 

Moreover, 37% of people who participated in the poll liked both the York sisters, but they also had the highest rate of respondents saying they "don't know" when asked for an opinion (37% to 38%). Another poll about the princesses, this time from Hello! magazine, didn't pit Beatrice and Eugenie against each other, and nor did it unveil a favorite princess between the two in the end. Instead, the poll received mostly positive responses for both York sisters. In fact, an impressive 82% of the survey-takers felt that they were wonderful role models, and over half of the respondents expressed a desire to see Beatrice and Eugenie do more work in the public sphere too.

Around the time that the GB News poll results were released, it was also announced that Princess Beatrice would soon be given more royal responsibilities to offset health-related absences from King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales. The Daily Mail reported in May 2024 that even though Beatrice isn't technically a working royal, she would likely be helping out and doing more official engagements going forward. Both the king and his beloved daughter in law announced cancer diagnoses earlier in the year and were unable to work the way they used to as a result. An insider claimed that Charles would therefore like Beatrice and sometimes Princess Eugenie to attend more royal events.

Beatrice is reportedly happy to help. A source for her family mentioned all the events coming up in summer 2024, reasoning, "I think Beatrice and Eugenie are adding support where they can. They've always been clear they're non-royal, but they're always there to help fulfil any duties required." Another insider confirmed that Charles is interested in having Beatrice and Eugenie handle more royal engagements, believing they'll do well. They also spoke on Beatrice's rumored feelings on the subject: "Beatrice in particular has been desperate for her chance to shine. She was once shy and her style was a little frumpy. But these days she's ambitious, confident and fashionable. She looks great in photos."

A source connected to Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, reiterated to Us Weekly that Princess Beatrice would actively be doing more shortly, noting, "Beatrice will be stepping up the number of engagements she does." They made it clear, however, that she would not be replacing Kate Middleton. Poll results picking a favorite sister, or one they'd prefer to see working more prominently, thankfully won't ever drive a wedge between Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who are reportedly super close. Only a little less than two years apart in age, in a joint interview from 2018 with British Vogue, they spoke gushingly about their strong relationship.

Eugenie enthused, "We're each other's rocks. We're the only other person in each other's lives who can know exactly what the other one is going through." She recounted how supportive they were of each other and described her confidence rising at social events when bolstered by her sister. Then, Beatrice told a humorous story about an infamous argument: "One of the biggest fights we ever had was about a pair of Converse trainers. We have the same size feet and both of us had identical pairs. One pair got trashed and the other sister may have swapped them." However, they didn't divulge which sister was the mischievous, shoe-swapping one.