Princess Beatrice made a poignant visit to her parents in Windsor today, capturing attention as she navigated through the unfolding drama surrounding her family. Her parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, have retreated to the Royal Lodge, a residence provided by royal favor, amid the early release of Virginia Giuffre’s explosive book.

This afternoon, Beatrice was seen driving through the gates of the stately home, a move that seemed to underscore her support as the York family finds themselves in the eye of a storm. The visit concluded with Beatrice departing in her high-end Range Rover, her expression noticeably serious after spending time at the expansive 30-room mansion located within the grounds of Windsor Castle.

The backdrop to this family gathering includes startling revelations from The Mail on Sunday, which uncovered emails indicating that Jeffrey Epstein secretly funded Sarah Ferguson for a staggering 15 years. This revelation adds another layer of complexity to the already tumultuous situation facing the Yorks.

After paying them a visit, their eldest daughter looked serious as her luxury Range Rover swept away from the 30-room mansion in the grounds of Windsor Castle. 

It came after astonishing new emails unearthed by The Mail on Sunday suggested Jeffrey Epstein secretly bankrolled Sarah Ferguson for 15 years.

In the previously unseen emails, Epstein also revealed Fergie was so desperate to cosy up to him that ‘she was the first to celebrate’ his release from jail ‘with her two daughters in tow’. Princess Beatrice would have been 20 at the time and Eugenie 19, the same age as many of his victims. 

The sisters reportedly pulled out of ‘London’s Met Gala’ on Saturday night after their disgraced father lost his royal titles amid increased scrutiny over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

But while the House of York kept their heads down, King Charles is in Manchester visiting the synagogue at the centre of the October 2 terror attack in the monarch’s show of support for Britain’s Jewish people. He spoke to survivors.

Princess Beatrice drives from Royal Lodge, home of her father Prince Andrew and mother Sarah Ferguson, at Windsor in Berkshire today

Beatrice is the first from her immediate family to break cover after her father was stripped of his dukedom and titles 

Calls are growing for Prince Andrew to be kicked out of the Royal Lodge (pictured), the lavish Windsor mansion he shares with his ex-wife

Prince Andrew could become the first royal to be caught up in a criminal probe in more than 20 years. Scotland Yard has confirmed it is ‘actively’ probing claims he asked an officer to dig up dirt on Virginia Giuffre. 

A Royal source predicted today that Fergie could even turn on Andrew over the scandal and the former couple might even ask their children for financial support after King Charles and Prince William cut them loose. 

William is said to want the divorced couple out of the Royal Lodge. Andrew reportedly has access to fully-staffed palace in Abu Dhabi – a gift from the UAE’s ruling royal family. But the heat and quiet social scene make it less appealing for the British prince, it is claimed.

‘Fergie will say anything to save her own skin – but her fate is closely tied to that of her ex-husband’, the Daily Mail’s insider said. 

One expert has said that with Virginia’s book now out around the world, it is only ‘the beginning’ of more scandal for Andrew and his family. 

A friend of Fergie, Lizzie Cundy, defended her and said: ‘I feel sorry for the victims of Epstein obviously, my thoughts are with them – but I can’t help but my heart hurt a little bit for Sarah’.

It was business as usual for the King as he focuses on his public duties. 

But Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice decided not to attend the British Museum’s inaugural Pink Ball over the weekend.

Philanthropist Isha Ambani, the daughter of India’s richest man, supermodel Naomi Campbell and actor James Norton led a star-studded guest list at the high society function, which aims to rival New York’s prestigious Met Gala.

Beatrice and her younger sister did not show up despite both being invited, HELLO! has reported.

It has not been confirmed why the pair did not attend the ball but it came 24 hours after Prince Andrew announced he would be giving up his royal titles.

After another week of scandal, he announced he would no longer be known as the Duke of York and was stepping down from membership of the Order of the Garter – the country’s most ancient order of chivalry.

Charles and William have forced out Andrew and convinced him to give up his titles

The Duke and Duchess of York are divorced  but live together in Windsor and remain very close to their daughters, who may offer to help them financially in the wake of the Epstein scandal

King Charles III meets members of the community during a visit to Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue today

His ex-wife, Sarah, with whom he will continue to live at the lavish 30-bedroom Royal Lodge at Windsor, will no longer be known as the Duchess of York.

However, their daughters – Beatrice and Eugenie – will continue to keep their titles due to being princesses at birth. 

Similarly, Andrew will remain a prince as he was born the son of Queen Elizabeth II, although there is increasing pressure for this title to be removed too.

The Pink Ball is the first in a series of events hosted by the British Museum, with this year’s theme chosen to pay homage to an ongoing exhibition called Ancient India: Living Traditions.

The event was co-hosted by Ms Ambani, the daughter of India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, and guests were treated to an Indian meal.

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak, mayor of London Sadiq Khan, TV star Maya Jama and Lady Kitty Spencer – the eldest daughter of Charles Spencer and the niece of the late Princess Diana – were also in attendance.

More than 800 guests attended the fundraising event – many of whom paid up to £2,000 a ticket to rub shoulders with the rich and famous.

The Daily Mail has contacted Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie for comment. 

Their drop out from the ball comes as the Royal Family braces for more days of pain over the Prince Andrew scandal ahead of the publication of a posthumous memoir from his teenage sex accuser Virginia Giuffre.

Princess Eugenie (right) and Princess Beatrice pulled out of ‘London’s Met Gala’ after their disgraced father lost his royal titles amid increased scrutiny over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein

There was a sense of relief at Buckingham Palace as Andrew relinquished his remaining titles.

But Ms Giuffre’s family have led growing calls for Andrew to have his ‘prince’ title removed after The Mail on Sunday published a fresh series of exclusives yesterday which raised further questions over his behaviour.

This newspaper revealed how Andrew told the Met Police to dig up dirt on Ms Giuffre by handing over her confidential social security number and date of birth to his taxpayer-funded police protection officer. The Met is ‘actively looking into the claims made’.

The MoS also revealed how Epstein introduced Andrew to a second woman who had been sexually abused by the paedophile financier for years and how he bankrolled Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife, for 15 years.

And royal experts have told the Daily Mail how the next few days could be ‘toxic’ for Andrew and risks overshadowing King Charles’s royal engagements, including his state visit to the Vatican with Queen Camilla on Wednesday.

Ahead of Ms Giuffre’s memoir from beyond the grave being published on Tuesday, her ghost writer Amy Wallace will appear on Newsnight tonight. The constant stream of Andrew’s name in the headlines is set to bring ‘more days of pain ahead’ for the Royal Family, a source told the BBC.

A royal source told the BBC there are currently no plans for the removal of his prince title but added: ‘The headlines are taking a lot of oxygen out of the royal room.’

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

The book is to be published on Tuesday, a day before Charles begins a state visit to the Holy See, during which he will become the first British monarch to pray at a public service with the Pope since the Reformation.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail: ‘The problem the Royal Family has is that it cannot control events. The posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl by poor Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life in April this year, will, according to early reports, be toxic for Andrew.’

He said ‘only 1 per cent’ of documents linked to Epstein have been made public, adding: ‘This could therefore be an almost endless stream of embarrassment and it is clear that they could be highly incriminating both to Andrew and also to Sarah Ferguson as yesterday’s MoS revealed.

‘There will almost certainly be more public disgust at what is revealed.

‘When William becomes King he is likely to pursue a tough policy and we may never see Andrew or Sarah in public again at a royal event.’

A report in The Sunday Times suggested that the Prince of Wales was ‘not satisfied’ with the decision concerning Andrew’s titles.

The newspaper suggested William intended to take a ‘more ruthless’ approach to his disgraced uncle, and would ban him from his future coronation.

It is understood, however, that the King and William are in lockstep over how to deal with the former duke.

Andrew, still a prince and living in the 30-bedroom Royal Lodge mansion, issued a statement in his own words on Friday in which he said he was giving up his Duke of York title and honours, to prevent distracting from the work of the monarch and the royal family.

Ms Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, has urged the King to go further and strip Andrew of his right to be a prince.

Charles is said to have acted, in consultation with William, Andrew and the royal family, on Friday, after it emerged Andrew had emailed Jeffrey Epstein in 2011 saying ‘we’re in this together’, three months after he claimed he had broken all contact with him.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips the Government would be guided by the royal family on any formal action to remove Andrew’s titles.

He said: ‘I think it’s really important as a Government minister, that we allow the royal family to make decisions on these questions.’

He also described the claims that Andrew wanted his bodyguard to smear Ms Giuffre as ‘deeply concerning allegations’.

In 2022, the then-Duke of York paid millions to accuser Ms Giuffre to settle a civil sexual assault case, despite claiming never to have met her.

In Ms Giuffre’s posthumous memoirs, she wrote that Andrew insisted she sign a one-year gag order after their settlement, to prevent tarnishing the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The BBC, which obtained a copy of the book, said that Ms Giuffre also says she ‘was habitually used and humiliated’ after being trafficked to ‘scores of wealthy, powerful people’, and she added: ‘I believed that I might die a sex slave.’

She also described how Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview was like an ‘injection of jet fuel’ for her legal team, and it raised the possibility of ‘subpoenaing’ his former wife Sarah, and daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, and drawing them into the legal case.

Ms Giuffre said she got ‘more out of’ Andrew than a reported $12million payout and $2million donation to her charity, because she had ‘an acknowledgement that I and many other women had been victimised and a tacit pledge to never deny it again’.

The prince’s 2019 Newsnight interview, which he hoped would clear his name, backfired when he said he ‘did not regret’ his friendship with convicted paedophile Epstein, who trafficked Ms Giuffre.

He was heavily criticised for failing to show sympathy with the sex offender’s victims.

Andrew also said he had ‘no recollection’ of ever meeting Ms Giuffre, and said he could not have had sex with her in March 2001 because he was at Pizza Express with Beatrice on the day in question.

Ms Giuffre alleged, which Andrew vehemently denies, that she was forced to have sex with the prince on three occasions, including when she was 17, after being trafficked by Epstein.

It comes as the Daily Mail revealed how King Charles had threatened to have Andrew officially stripped of his titles unless he ‘saw sense’.

Charles made clear he would not hesitate to take decisive ‘further action’ if his brother refused to give up his dukedom and other honours after he lied about cutting ties with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, it can be revealed.

The Daily Mail understands that despite the growing tsunami of evidence against him, the former Duke of York was digging his heels in with a ‘startling lack of contrition’.

It was a situation the King deemed ‘intolerable’, sources said.

The only way for Charles to legally strip Andrew of his titles would have been to take it through Parliament, and he has never wished to take up its valuable time and resources in dealing with the matter.

But last week he privately made clear to Andrew that a raft of options were open to him if he did not fall on his sword.

Some have questioned whether the act of making Queen Elizabeth’s second son simply set aside his titles is adequate in the circumstances.

But sources say that to involve Parliament when it is dealing with huge domestic and economic challenges, not to mention major global security issues, could have been seen as a waste of resources and taken months – or even a year – to conclude.

The fact courtiers were even willing to consider taking the matter out of his hands – whether through Parliament or by other means – is believed to have ‘shocked’ Andrew into finally taking action.

A royal source said yesterday: ‘The thought of him still continuing to use the titles and honours that had been conferred upon him for another day, month or year while other options were explored and enactioned was intolerable, for the sake of the wider family. And at last, for the wider good, Andrew saw sense.’