Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have been urged to “stay away” from a major royal event. It emerged this week that King Charles has invited the York sisters to Royal Ascot this summer.

It comes after it was agreed that Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 36, would not attend Easter Matins service at Windsor this weekend. The pair have reportedly been keeping a low profile after a series of claims about their parents, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, emerged in the so-called Epstein Files.

While the pair won’t be at St George’s Chapel for the traditional Easter Sunday service, it is thought they could join senior royals in the carriage procession at the five-day racing event. The Sun reported that the pair could even attend the exclusive Royal Enclosure.

Royal author Robert Jobson has however urged Beatrice and Eugenie to steer clear of Ascot amid the scrutiny facing their parents. He claims the Epstein scandal is “dark, murky and won’t go away”.

Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive podcast, Jobson said: “I think they’ve got to stay away. I think they have to stay away. You’re just drawing attention to them.

“As soon as they’re in the carriage with someone at Ascot, we’ll all be focusing on what they’re wearing, what they’re doing and who is with them.”

TalkTV news commentator Samara Gill added that the York sisters have been “tarnished with the Epstein brush”. She continued: “I don't think there's any getting out of that or rinsing themselves of that for a very long time.

“They socially mountaineered themselves into good marriages and they can just afford to go off and live their own life.”

Elsewhere, author Harry Mount this week claimed that Andrew’s dream for his daughters to have royal jobs appears to have been dashed. He does however insist that the York sisters will still be invited to royal events.

"Any prospect of royal duties – which [their father Andrew] Mountbatten-Windsor is reported to desire for them – are finished," Mount writes in the i newspaper. "Of course, they will attend major royal occasions: weddings, christenings, funerals and coronations. But the high-profile opportunities like the Easter church service at Sandringham are finished."

Andrew’s ambitions for his daughters to play a major part in royal life have long been documented. In 2023 an insider told the Express: “Andrew has helped orchestrate a slow and gradual return for the girls, which has seen them do more and more charity work alongside school visits and other duties."

"The plan was to slowly increase their appearances over time until they became more prominent members of the family. They have realised that the girls are needed and have latched onto that like a limpet on a rock."

However, recent controversies involving their parents appear to have undermined those prospects. Andrew’s links to Epstein, along with his reported association with an alleged Chinese spy, have fuelled ongoing public concern. In recent years, royal appearances have occasionally been met with small but vocal protests questioning what the King knew about his brother’s activities, and when.