Princesses Eugenie and 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, it has been revealed.
The royal sisters are understood to have been on the guest list for British Museum’s inaugural Pink Ball, which aims to rival New York’s Met Gala, on Saturday night.
Philanthropist Isha Ambani, the daughter of India‘s richest man, supermodel Naomi Campbell and actor James Norton led a star-studded guestlist at the high society ball.
But, Princess Beatrice and her younger sister Eugenie did not show up despite both being on the guest list, HELLO! reports.
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.
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.
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
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak along with his wife, Akshata Murty (pictured together), at the ball in London
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.
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.
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.’
The Royal Family is bracing for more days of pain ahead over the Prince Andrew scandal. Pictured: Andrew, King Charles and Prince William at the funeral of the Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral on September 16
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.
King Charles was pictured arriving at Crathie Kirk church, near his Balmoral estate in Scotland, for a service on Sunday. He will head to the Vatican on Wednesday
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News’ 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 pay-out and two million dollar 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 Mail revealed how King Charles 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.’
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