Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will not join the Royal Family for their traditional Easter church service this Sunday.
With the agreement of the King, Beatrice and Eugenie have made alternative plans and will miss the traditional royal gathering at Windsor Castle.
The decision comes after the former Duke of York’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office and the scandal surrounding his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Beatrice and Eugenie, who are the King’s nieces, joined the Royal Family for Christmas at Sandringham in December.
It is understood they will be at family celebrations in the future.
The King, the Queen and other members of the family are set to attend the Easter Matins church service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, as they traditionally do each year.
Among those expected to attend are the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Beatrice and Eugenie, who are granddaughters of the late Queen Elizabeth II, have faced scrutiny themselves after their names appeared in the document dump relating to the convicted sex offender recently released by the US Department of Justice.
One email exchange suggested their mother, Sarah Ferguson, took her daughters to see Epstein in the US just days after he was released from prison for child sex crimes.
They were 19 and 20 at the time.
Andrew was arrested earlier this year. Credit: PA
“Sarah” had emailed Epstein to discuss lunch arrangements in Miami in July 2009, telling him: “It will be myself, Beatrice and Eugenie.”
Epstein emailed the now-convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, on July 28 2009, and said: “ferg and the two girls come (sic) yesterday”.
Andrew was stripped by the monarch of both his right to be a prince and his dukedom late last year over his association with Epstein – but Beatrice and Eugenie kept their princess titles.
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Andrew was arrested in February – on his 66th birthday – on suspicion of misconduct in public office following allegations he shared sensitive information with Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.
He has long denied any wrongdoing over his links to Epstein.
Sarah meanwhile lost her Freedom of the City of York title last week after councillors voted unanimously to remove the honour over her links to Epstein.
Eugenie was reported to have stepped down as patron of charity Anti-Slavery International in March, a role she has held for seven years.
This is the Talking Royals – our weekly podcast about the royal family, with ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson…