EXCLUSIVE: Radar Reveals Real Reason Princess Catherine Is 'Backing Away' From Princess Eugenie
The future queen appears to be getting more guarded.
May 14 2026, Published 9:00 a.m. ET
Catherine, Princess of Wales, is said to be creating increasing distance between herself and Princess Eugenie as tensions and loyalties inside the Royal Family continue to shift in the aftermath of Prince Harry's public fallout with the monarchy and Andrew Windsor's Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
RadarOnline.com can reveal that even though the Princess of Wales, 44, and Eugenie, 36, have long appeared cordial during official royal engagements, insiders told us the pair have never developed a particularly close personal relationship despite sharing strikingly similar backgrounds.
Tensions Rise Between Princesses Catherine and Eugenie
Princess Catherine has created increasing emotional distance between herself and Princess Eugenie, sources claimed.
Both attended Marlborough College in Wiltshire, and both developed strong interests in the arts – with Catherine studying Art History at the University of St Andrews, where she met Prince William, 43, while Eugenie now works as a director at London's contemporary gallery Hauser & Wirth.
Yet royal insiders said their personalities, priorities, and allegiances within the family have increasingly pulled them in different directions.
One source said: "Over the past few years, Kate has become extremely selective about the people she allows into her trusted inner circle. After all the turmoil surrounding Harry and Meghan's departure from royal life and with the scandal connected to Eugenie's father, Andrew, there's been a much stronger emphasis on loyalty, discretion, and protecting the stability of the Wales household.
"Because Eugenie has remained one of the few family members still publicly close to Harry, that also naturally creates a certain level of caution and discomfort."
'A Growing Emotional and Social Distance Between Them'
Both women attended Marlborough College and developed strong interests in the arts.
The insider added, "It's not as though Kate and Eugenie have had some dramatic falling out or major confrontation behind closed doors. The issue is much more subtle than that. There's simply a growing emotional and social distance between them because they now occupy very different spaces within the Royal Family and have very different priorities."
The source continued: "Kate's entire focus is on supporting William, safeguarding the future of the monarchy, and maintaining a sense of discipline and unity around the core working royals.
"She's become incredibly protective of that environment. Eugenie, meanwhile, is still viewed by some palace insiders as someone who remains sympathetic toward her father, Harry, and Meghan and emotionally connected to their side of the family divide."
"That inevitably makes relationships more complicated because, whether fair or not, there's always an underlying concern about where loyalties ultimately lie," the insider noted. "Kate has become much more guarded since the Sussex fallout, and that has definitely changed the dynamic with Eugenie."
Contrast in Reputations from Marlborough Years
School staff discovered Princess Eugenie and her classmates dancing on school grounds in 2008.
Differences between Catherine and Eugenie are said to stretch back as far as their school years at Marlborough College, where the future Princess of Wales was known for keeping a relatively low profile academically and socially.
Eugenie, by contrast, became embroiled in headlines during her final year at the elite boarding school following a notorious late-night incident in 2008, when she was 18.
Reports at the time claimed Eugenie and several fellow students had been discovered dancing naked on the school grounds after an evening of drinking.
A staff member said at the time: "The girls had been drinking, possibly in a local pub, and decided to let their hair down. For some reason, they stripped off and started prancing about. It was light-hearted, and they were sort of frolicking like nymphs.
"But they got too noisy, and the staff discovered them. They had to quickly pick up their clothes and hot-foot it inside. She and the others were told they had to go home and only return to take their exams. There were not enough staff on Saturdays and Sundays to supervise them, and they were told they couldn't be trusted to behave."
At the time, a source also said: "It was nothing more than high jinks at the end of term in May. A group of them were reprimanded, and that's the end of the matter."
'William and Kate Have Become Extremely Cautious'
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Princess Catherine became extremely selective about her trusted inner circle, insiders claimed.
Royal insiders now claim the contrast between Catherine's carefully disciplined image and Eugenie's more unconventional reputation still shapes how both women are viewed inside palace circles.
One source said, "Kate has worked incredibly hard over the years to cultivate an image that reflects discipline, reliability, and a very traditional sense of royal duty. Everything about the way she conducts herself is carefully measured – from her public appearances to the people she surrounds herself with. She understands that, as the future queen, stability and discretion are absolutely central to her role."
The insider added, "Eugenie has always been perceived very differently within royal circles. She's generally seen as more relaxed, more socially adventurous, and far more embedded in celebrity and non-royal social circles than Kate has ever been comfortable with. She moves in a much freer world, whereas Kate tends to keep a very controlled and tightly managed environment around herself.
"The ongoing fallouts involving Harry and Andrew have only made those differences more pronounced. Eugenie remained one of the few members of the family who continued to maintain visible ties with Harry after everything that happened, and that hasn't gone unnoticed inside palace circles."
"William and Kate have become extremely cautious and protective in the aftermath of the Sussex drama, particularly when it comes to trust and loyalty within the family," the tipster added. "So when Eugenie is still viewed as someone emotionally close to Harry and sympathetic to his perspective, it inevitably creates a layer of tension and sensitivity in those relationships, even if nobody openly acknowledges it publicly."
