Princess Eugenie steps down from anti-slavery charity in wake of Andrew’s arrest

Eugenie was patron of Anti-Slavery International for seven years but the London-based charity has confirmed her role has come to an end, thanking her for ‘her support’

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Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice with their father Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Princess Eugenie has stepped down as patron of an anti-slavery charity in the wake of her dad Andrew’s arrest and the Epstein scandal.

The royal was patron of Anti-Slavery International for seven years and during this time, Eugenie was hailed for her work “across the board with leaders in the fight against modern slavery” – but her profile has now been removed from the charity’s website.

In a new statement released today, Anti-Slavery International confirmed that her patronage has “come to an end”.

The charity told the Observer: “After seven years, our patronage from HRH Princess Eugenie of York has come to an end. We thank the Princess very much for her support for Anti-Slavery International. We hope that she continues to work to end slavery.”

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Princesses Eugenie (R) pictured with her sister Beatrice(Image: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Anti-Slavery International is the world’s oldest human rights charity, founded in 1839 in London as the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. It was set up to campaign for worldwide abolition following the end of the Transatlantic slave trade, and today focuses its efforts eradicating modern slavery, which is estimated to involve 50 million people.

Eugenie also co-founded a separate charity, the Anti-Slavery Collective, in 2017 alongside her close friend, Julia de Boinville.

The move comes weeks after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested under suspicion of misconduct in public office. The former prince is still under investigation and has since holed himself up in his temporary home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.

It is understood that the former Duke of York’s arrest was down to Andrew allegedly sharing confidential files with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while he was the UK’s trade envoy. This came only weeks after the US Department of Justice released a fresh batch of documents from the Epstein files on January 30.

Andrew has continually denied any wrongdoing. His association with the American financier led to his royal titles being removed last year, as well as his swift departure from his home at the Royal Lodge in Windsor in early February.

Eugenie, 35, and her 37-year-old sister Beatrice’s position in The Firm has been questioned as of late, as sources have claimed that they have been pushed out of events such as the Royal Ascot in order to not damage the image of other public-facing royals. The pair have kept a low profile since Andrew’s arrest, though both have been spotted separately around London in recent weeks, while the whereabouts of mum Sarah Ferguson remain unknown.