Princess Eugenie steps down from anti-slavery charity

Princess Eugenie has stepped down as patron of charity Anti-Slavery International, a role she has held for seven years.

The UK-based organisation thanked the princess for her support and confirmed its relationship had ended in a statement.

No reason was given for the severing of ties, but it follows the recent release of Epstein files which heaped further pressure on her father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, over his links to the late convicted sex offender.

Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing from his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

Eugenie, 35, her sister Princess Beatrice, 37, and their mother Sarah Ferguson are also repeatedly mentioned in the emails and documents.

BBC News has attempted to contact Eugenie. Being named among the Epstein files is not an indication of wrongdoing.

Anti-Slavery International, which has been running for 180 years, describes its mission as helping to prevent slavery in its many forms, including child slavery, forced labour and human trafficking.

In a statement, first reported in The Observer, the charity said: "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 for good and deliver freedom for everyone."

It come as the charity watchdog said it was looking into separate charity The Anti-Slavery Collective.

That charity, whose focus includes victims of sex trafficking, has been described by royal biographer Andrew Lownie as a "preposterously inappropriate cause" for Eugenie to be involved with.

In October, BBC News reported that its accounts for the previous financial year showed The Anti-Slavery Collective had raised £1.5m in donations but had distributed very little, with £1.3m carried forward.

Much of that income came from a major gala fundraiser held in London in 2023, but a source within the sector has said it is "difficult optically to do anything high profile like that again".

Its most recently available accounts, to the year ending 5 April 2025, show donations had slumped to £48,000. It spent £191,537 on salaries, double what The Anti-Slavery Collective spent on charity programmes.

A Charity Commission spokesperson told BBC News: "We are assessing concerns raised in the media about charitable spending at The Anti-Slavery Collective to determine what role there is, if any, for the Commission."

It is understood the body has not yet made any findings, and that it does not put a timeframe on how long initial enquiries take.

BBC News approached the charity multiple times to ask for a comment in light of the latest controversy surrounding Andrew and Epstein, but it has not responded.

Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew and the Duke of York, was stripped of his royal titles in October after increasing scrutiny over his links to Epstein.

Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Emails and files from his estate, released by the US Department of Justice in January, included a photograph appearing to show Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling on all fours over a female lying on the ground. Both are fully dressed.

A separate email suggests Ferguson and her daughters had lunch with Epstein in Miami, just days after his release from prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Elsewhere, it appears the princesses were called upon by him to entertain his contacts and give tours of Buckingham Palace.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have not made any public comment on the Epstein files, and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.

In February, Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office before being released under investigation.

The arrest came after Thames Valley Police said it was assessing a complaint over the alleged sharing of confidential material by the former prince with Epstein.