The message was succinct yet impactful: “The tripod has collapsed.”

Allow me to elaborate.

Known for their close bond, “the tripod” is the affectionate nickname Sarah Ferguson and her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, use to describe their supportive and tight-knit relationship.

“Mummy, Bea, and I call ourselves ‘the tripod.’ They are my best friends in the world,” Princess Eugenie enthused during a 2008 interview.

Unfortunately, for the two princesses, who continue to hold their HRH titles and remain part of the “House of York,” recent developments have undoubtedly put a strain on this family dynamic. The King is particularly intent on ensuring his nieces remain unblemished by the controversies surrounding their father.

However, I have been informed that the sisters’ bond with their father remains unshaken.

In fact multiple sources tell me both princesses have gone out of their way to strongly support beleaguered Andrew in recent weeks.

Both girls are said to be deeply worried about his mental wellbeing, with Andrew having become a virtual recluse at Royal Lodge.

Famously close, ‘the tripod’ is the nickname used by Sarah Ferguson and her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to describe their mutually supportive relationship. Pictured (L-R) are Beatrice, Sarah and Eugenie

While Andrew and Sarah have always been a source of strength to one another, the opposite seems now to be the case (file image)

Sadly for the two princesses, recent events have inevitably placed a strain on family relations. Pictured: Andrew, centre, and his daughters Princess Eugenie, left, and Princess Beatrice leave Westminster Abbey after the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton

Indeed, my contacts tell me it is actually the former Duchess of York’s relationship with her daughters that has come under most strain. In particular the girls were said to have been deeply shocked by the publication in The Mail on Sunday of an email sent by Sarah to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein apologising for calling him ‘the P word’ in an interview distancing herself from him in 2011.

In public Sarah called her involvement with Epstein a ‘gigantic error of judgement’ and said she abhorred paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children. She also apologised for borrowing money from him at the time to settle her spiralling personal debts.

In private she emailed him shortly afterwards, however, strongly distancing herself from the remarks and calling him a ‘supreme friend’.

‘I know you feel hellaciously let down by me,’ she said. ‘You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.’

While Sarah’s spokesman subsequently claimed she had only written the email on ‘legal’ advice after being threatened by Epstein, the excuse has rung hollow.

And the revelations have caused severe embarrassment to her daughters, particularly Eugenie, 35, who has diligently worked to highlight the plight of modern day trafficking with her charity The Anti-Slavery Collective.

‘Beatrice and Eugenie are lovely girls and they have been left bereft by this all,’ a family friend tells me. ‘I would actually go so far as to say that they are even more disappointed in their mother than their father now.

‘The tripod has collapsed. Obviously they will continue to support their parents, but they feel so let down.

In public Sarah Ferguson called her involvement with Epstein a ‘gigantic error of judgement’ (file image)

Prince Andrew, Duke of York with Sarah Ferguson after their engagement announcement, Buckingham Palace, London, March 17, 1986

Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell pose for a photo (L-R)

‘They are genuinely fearful for their father and have grave concerns about what he will do for the rest of his life.

‘They also love their mother dearly, of course they do. She’s a wonderful grandmother, too, and they are deeply concerned about how this is all affecting her mentally as much as their father.

‘But I think it’s fair to say the scales have also somewhat fallen from their eyes.’

So where do recent events leave the House of York, which could previously trace its illustrious history back to the late 1300s (and since the 15th century has traditionally been given to the second son of the sovereign).

Sources clearly close to Andrew insisted to the Telegraph yesterday that he was ‘sanguine’ about the dramatic change in his circumstances. They described recent moves by the King as an almost intolerable ‘slicing away’ of his life but, remarkably, suggested there was a sense of relief he was now able to start afresh.

It was also suggested that he felt no particular affinity for Windsor, despite living in grandeur there for most of his adult life, and had happy family memories of Sandringham with his parents.

Remarkably the sources also pointedly claimed that Andrew had ‘always done what has been demanded of him by the Royal household’, stressing that he had never criticised his brother either in public or in private.

They even maintained the former prince had effectively fallen on his sword by agreeing to settle with Mrs Giuffre to avoid overshadowing the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, even though he knew this would be interpreted in public as an admission of guilt.

The princesses are said to have been left bereft by the fallout from the scandals involving their parents 

Beatrice, Sarah and Eugenie – self-professed best friends – pictured in 2013

None of which, clearly, recognises that his pig-headed behaviour – whether that be his ill-fated association with Epstein or his dealings with shady international businessmen and alleged Chinese spies – was a perpetual source of reputational damage not just to his family, but the entire institution of the monarchy.

By contrast, my sources say that while Andrew continues to maintain his innocence, he has been left a ‘shadow of the man he once was’.

Holed up inside the mansion he has fought desperately to keep for so long, he has become a virtual hermit, stepping out only to catch some occasional fresh air in its extensive grounds.

While he and Sarah have always been a source of strength to one another, the opposite seems now to be the case. She is even more on edge than him, having always previously been seen as his public defender and saviour, my source says.

‘There are many who have almost admired her dogged loyalty to her ex-husband and family. She has always found a way to bounce back from the many public scandals she has faced over the years, normally with a well-paid public mea culpa and a promise to change her ways.

‘[But] That’s unlikely to happen this time. It’s not just a question of her finances now, but her personal dealings with a serial sexual predator – and her willingness to lie about them.

‘The phone has stopped ringing overnight. Even those who were willing to defend her less than a month ago don’t want to have anything to do with her now. It’s a disaster. Professionally and personally. Even she can’t see a way of bouncing back.’

It’s why, I am told, Sarah is even considering moving abroad in a bid to escape the fall-out.

While she may not have many supporters left in the UK – and is unlikely to have much left in the bank to buy a suitable new home here, royal sources having indicated she is unlikely to up sticks with Andrew to rural Norfolk – she does have a network of wealthy friends overseas.

‘Fergie may leave the country,’ my source said. ‘She’s always rather lived on the hoof and aside from her children and grandchildren, there’s not a lot to keep her here.

‘Put it this way, the invitations have dried up overnight.’

What my sources agree with Andrew’s friends over is that it could take weeks – if not months – to get him and Sarah out of the house.

While Buckingham Palace has said the move will take place ‘as soon as practicable’, a source adds: ‘It’s a process. Notice must be given, then the lease must be surrendered and other formalities completed.’

This includes working out whether Andrew is entitled to any money from the Crown Estate as a result of the early conclusion of his ‘cast iron’ 75-year lease.

But there are also, I can reveal, rather more mundane practicalities. ‘Even when she is sitting in Royal Lodge, Sarah can spend the money,’ one informed local source tells me.

‘The Amazon deliveries that go up to Royal Lodge are unbelievable. There are rooms full of boxes that haven’t even been opened.

‘It will take weeks, if not months, to shift all their s*** out.’