Outward Bound is a charity deeply intertwined with the British Royal Family, renowned for its mission of empowering young people through adventurous outdoor experiences. This esteemed organization had Prince Philip as its patron for a remarkable 65 years, a role later passed on to his son, Prince Andrew.

Last month, eyebrows were raised when it was disclosed in the Eden Confidential column that Princess Beatrice, Prince Andrew’s elder daughter, resigned from her position as an Outward Bound trustee after a six-year tenure. Her departure came as a surprise to many, given the family’s long-standing association with the charity.

The timing of Princess Beatrice’s exit was particularly notable, coinciding with news that her mother, Sarah Ferguson, was removed from eight charitable roles. This development followed revelations by The Mail on Sunday about a deferential email Ferguson had sent to the late Jeffrey Epstein in 2011, just two years after his conviction for sex offenses.

Despite the shake-up, an Outward Bound spokesperson assured last month that Princess Beatrice would soon take on ‘a new role’ within the organization, with further details to be revealed in the future.

A spokesman for Outward Bound insisted last month that ‘a new role’ would be announced for Beatrice ‘in due course’.

Four weeks later, no such position has been announced and it is hard to avoid the suspicion that Outward Bound might no longer want to be linked to a family so closely associated with a sex offender.

It certainly doesn’t help that, according to Epstein himself, in emails revealed by The Mail on Sunday, Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie, now 37 and 35, had been taken to visit him in New York when he left jail.

Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein victim who tragically took her own life earlier this year, says in her new posthumous memoir that Prince Andrew said to her: ‘My daughters are just a little younger than you.’

In Prince Andrew’s notorious BBC Newsnight interview, he said he had cut off contact with Epstein in December 2010 after staying at his New York home

Virginia Giuffre photographed with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell in London in 2001

The comment allegedly prompted Epstein’s sometime girlfriend and close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell – who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking and other offences in a US prison – to joke about Virginia: ‘I guess we will have to trade her in soon.’

Andrew strenuously denies having had sexual relations with Ms Giuffre. But we have established that he is a liar so I, for one, do not believe him.

In his notorious BBC Newsnight interview, the prince said he had cut off contact with Epstein in December 2010 after staying at his New York home.

Thanks to The Mail on Sunday’s tireless investigations, however, we now know that 12 weeks after that visit to Manhattan, Andrew was still in touch.

In an email dated February 28, 2011, Andrew told Epstein that ‘we’re in this together’ and ‘we’ll play some more soon!’

The evidence against Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson seems damning.

Yet the sins of the father should not be visited upon the children. Beatrice and Eugenie cannot be blamed for the actions of their parents.

Naturally, there is increased scrutiny of the princess’s relationships and business activities.

Earlier this month, for example, a ‘royal insider’ claimed the princesses were ‘just as entitled as their parents’ and had ‘shady friends’ of their own.

The source told senior Daily Mail reporter Martin Robinson that Andrew has ensured his daughters maintain impeccable contacts in the Gulf states, especially among the super-rich of Saudi Arabia, where both Beatrice and Eugenie have visited in recent years.

Beatrice at the Empire State Building in partnership with Outward Bound to raise money for their education programme in May 2024

‘They were never going to be working royals but have benefitted from their family connection,’ claimed the source.

‘Andrew introduced them to many of his business contacts and foreign royals. They and Fergie have become friends with some shady people.

‘Beatrice and Eugenie grew up in this rarefied world in which there was always someone to do everything for you. That was illustrated when Beatrice had her BMW stolen in 2009 after leaving it unlocked with the car keys in the ignition.

‘I think she was used to a police protection officer looking after such things.’

My royal sources insist that this characterisation of the princesses is ‘grossly unfair’.

‘Bea and Eugenie should be treated in a completely different way from their parents,’ said one. ‘They are lovely women who want to make a useful contribution to society.’

Their friends say that, far from being ditched by good causes, charities are very keen to work with them. As evidence, they point to the fact that Eugenie was announced as patron of the Artswork charity earlier this month.

And, say my sources, Beatrice will soon be given a new role by Outward Bound.

It may be the end for the Duke and Duchess of York, as they were once known. But their daughters are preparing to play a bigger part in public life.