In the latest revelations from the Epstein files, it has emerged that the former Prince Andrew arranged a meeting with a Russian woman introduced to him by the notorious Jeffrey Epstein. Furthermore, Andrew reportedly invited Epstein to dine at Buckingham Palace following Epstein’s release from prison.

Additional correspondence from 2010 reveals that Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, humorously mentioned her daughter Eugenie’s personal life in an email to Epstein, writing, “Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a sha**ing weekend!!”

Moreover, Ferguson sought financial help from Epstein, asking for £20,000 to cover rent. She referred to Epstein as the “brother I have always wished for” and, in an effusive email, wrote, “Xx I am at your service. Just marry me.”

In light of these incidents, along with a photograph showing Andrew kneeling playfully over a young woman, one wonders how Beatrice and Eugenie can continue to maintain a relationship with their parents.

The situation suggests that a complete and public severance from their parents might be the only viable option for Beatrice and Eugenie, both for their own well-being and that of their children.

While an exceedingly difficult decision, the gravity of their parents’ actions and the potential implications for the monarchy demand a consideration beyond personal sentiment.

If Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie want to salvage and protect their own reputations, they must disown Andrew and Fergie for ever, writes Amanda Platell

Following the latest dump of information from the Epstein files, we know that the former Prince Andrew agreed to a hook-up with a Russian girl procured by the paedophile and that the then-prince invited Epstein to dinner at Buckingham Palace after his release from prison

Eugenie has reportedly already severed relations with her father. But if she and Beatrice want to salvage and protect their own reputations – and their children’s futures – they must both now do what any child would consider unthinkable. Publicly, they must disown Andrew and Fergie for ever and declare openly that they are on the side of Epstein’s many young victims.

For the sad truth is that the princesses are becoming badly tarnished by the scandal, despite being completely innocent. Not just because of the toxic nature of the York name after Andrew’s sordid associations with Epstein. But also because Fergie introduced them to Epstein on a number of occasions.

It is well documented that she and the princesses were among the first to meet Epstein in his multi-million-pound New York home after his release from prison for abusing and trafficking girls, some of them younger at the time than Beatrice and Eugenie themselves.

We now know all about Andrew’s continued association with Epstein after his conviction but Fergie was just as bad. And by endorsing Epstein with her daughters in tow, she brought them into disrepute.

That is why the princesses, still hanging on to their HRH titles after their parents were stripped of theirs, have to act. God knows I can’t imagine anything worse than having to cut both your parents adrift. But to my mind a public declaration of their doing so is the only way they can salvage their credibility and, in doing so, go some way to helping restore the reputation of the monarchy that has been so blackened by their parents.

For the sad truth is that the Princesses have become badly tarnished by the scandal surrounding their father, despite being completely innocent, writes Amanda Platell

Eugenie walks down the aisle with her father at her wedding to Jack Brooksbank in 2018

Sarah Ferguson introduced her daughters to Jeffrey Epstein on a number of occasions

In this #MeToo world, the stench of any association with a convicted paedophile, however innocent Beatrice and Eugenie might be, will linger for a very long time.

And yet so far there remains silence from the two princesses. Have we heard any word of apology for the alleged wrongdoings of their father? Or their mother?

The kindest thing we can say about the princesses is that they may have been existing unwittingly in a sort of splendid isolation, unaware of the gravity of their situation. Despite their parents divorcing in 1996 when Beatrice was eight and Eugenie six, they all continued to play happy families, living together in the palatial 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor Park, almost rent-free and with live-in servants.

Fergie even boasted on American TV that they were the perfect model for co-parents, the ‘happiest divorced couple in the world’ enjoying family harmony under one roof.

But this was a concocted veneer for what was really going on – Andrew still besties with Epstein and allegedly hooking up with a Russian woman and very young girls for ‘massages’, Fergie begging for and accepting money from her ‘supreme friend’ Epstein.

It must be the most terrible realisation for the princesses to have to finally face up to the fact that their parents are one of the most venal and revolting couples in royal history.

But that is their situation. And they can only start to make amends by accepting it publicly, by disavowing Mum and Dad, offering to give up their HRH titles – and retiring for the foreseeable future from public life.