Beatrice and Eugenie 'deeply distressed' over Epstein scandal but stand by Prince Andrew, friends say

Prince Andrew's daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are said to be "deeply distressed" by the fallout from their father's TV interview regarding his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

In less than a week, the Duke of York has watched the world as he knew it collapse around him, but Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are standing by him in the wake of the BBC Newsnight grilling.

He has withdrawn from public royal duty, ostracized by businesses and organisations previously synonymous with him and has faced calls to fly to the US to give evidence to the FBI.

It has cast a shadow over the monarchy, and a source told The Daily Beast that Prince Andrew's daughters have been left "deeply distressed" by the episode.

"Andrew was fighting not just for his survival but for all their survival," said the friend of the family for many years.

"Andrew and Sarah [Ferguson, mother of Beatrice and Eugenie] will obviously be worried about how his resignation impacts their children’s future."

The princesses have been out and about this week, attempting to carry on life as normal. And in spite of the tumultuous week, the family bond in the Yorks' household remains resilient.

The source added: "They have been through a hell of a lot and they have never turned on each other which is really pretty extraordinary when you think about it."

After the interview, Andrew faced criticism for showing a lack of empathy towards Epstein's victims and a lack of remorse over his friendship with the financier, who took his own life while in prison earlier this year awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

The duke denied claims he slept with Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's victims, on three separate occasions, twice while she was underage.

Duke 'cancels trip to Bahrain'

The Duke of York has cancelled a trip to Bahrain as the fallout over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein continues, it has been reported.

Andrew was expected to travel to the Middle East this weekend as part of his Pitch@Palace project for tech entrepreneurs but has cancelled plans following reported pressure from his family.

It has also been reported his private secretary, Amanda Thirsk, has been removed from her palace-funded role and will instead become the chief executive of the programme.

The Daily Mail said Ms Thirsk, believed to have been the driving force behind Andrew's catastrophic Newsnight interview, will now run the business mentorship scheme after she was dismissed on Thursday.

Ms Thirsk will also manage the Duke of York Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award after the duke quit his life as a working royal on Wednesday.

The businesses backing the duke and the ones that have ditched him

Despite stepping back from public life, Andrew will be continuing with Pitch@Palace "outside and entirely separate from the palace," a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said.

It is thought he will not have any involvement with the dozens of other charities, organisations and military units with which he has been associated.

Pitch will become a private initiative separate from the public work he has relinquished after the backlash following the television interview about his friendship with Epstein, widely viewed as a PR disaster.

However, several organisations have distanced themselves from the duke in the aftermath of the Queen's second son announcing he would step down from public duties for the "foreseeable future".

Pressure had been mounting on the duke in the wake of his interview, with a growing number of multimillion-pound businesses, universities and charities distancing themselves from him and Pitch@Palace.

By Thursday, two organisations had severed ties with him and a sponsor of Pitch@Palace said Andrew's plans to continue leading it were "not tenable".

The Outward Bound Trust - which Andrew has supported for decades - accepted his resignation as patron and Huddersfield University confirmed the duke would be relinquishing his role as its chancellor.

A source, speaking for a sponsor of Andrew's Pitch@Palace, said his desire to carry on as normal would not work and if its "reputational" problems continued the backer would end its contract.

The source, close to a sponsor of Pitch, said: "To say you're stepping back from public life but then carry on is not a tenable position by the palace, and I think the sponsor shares that view.

"We really want the programme to continue and succeed, because it's a valuable programme, but if it's going to continue to have reputational problems then we'll have to walk away from our contract."

Andrew will be scaling down his public work from now on, but it is not clear if his finances will change as he is supported by his mother the Queen and her help will never be disclosed.