New Idea understands tension between the pair has been brewing ever since Camilla “snubbed” Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank in 2018.
“Camilla is not that close to Eugenie and didn’t go to her wedding, which some saw as a snub,” royal author Phil Dampier explains.
“It’s been said that Camilla is not fond of Prince Andrew because she feels he didn’t support her and Charles much after the death of Princess Diana. Like all families, some relatives get on better than others.”
Paranoid her big secret may be leaked before she gets a chance to announce it herself, Eugenie is said to have asked her grandmother, the Queen, to warn members of the family, especially Camilla, to keep the sex of her baby under wraps.
“Camilla in particular has a habit of getting carried away and saying things she perhaps shouldn’t,” dishes a source.
Meanwhile, Phil says royal insiders are convinced the princess is having a boy.
“If it’s a boy, I’m sure at least one of his names will be Andrew, although Arthur and Thomas have also been mentioned,” he says, adding Eugenie will most likely give birth at The Portland Hospital in London, the same hospital where she and sister, Beatrice, were born.
“She is relaxed and I’m sure she will be happy to pose up on the steps with her husband, Jack, and the new arrival when she leaves to go home.”
The royal update comes after Eugenie’s mum, Sarah Ferguson, allegedly declared she wants to be called “Duchy” instead of grandma or nanny.
“Lots of my friends call me Duch, so I think it will end up being Duchy,” the Duchess of York, 61, explains. “I call myself Duchess Doodle because I’m always doodling.”
Fergie added that she thinks Eugenie, 30, will make a “great mother” as she is “incredibly empathetic” and “very strong”.