Prince William and Princess Kate have made a shock move to avoid being dragged down by the Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor scandal.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the disgraced former prince’s daughters, have already experienced the flow on effects from their father’s exile. Neither princess has been seen at a royal family event this year, even the traditional Easter events.

Both Beatrice and Eugenie featured in the Epstein files. According to a correspondence that has been attributed to their mother Sarah Ferguson, both princesses went to New York to visit the convicted paedophile in 2009 after he was released from prison.

At the time Beatrice was 21-years-old while Eugenie was 19-years-old. Ms Ferguson described Epstein as a “friend”, “pillar” and “brother” in the files, and also asked the disgraced financier, who was already covering the cost of her trip, to upgrade the trio’s flights back to the UK.

William and Kate have deftly swerved attempts to make them comment on the scandal, but are set to make a “statement” on their allegiances this June.

This week, it was reported that King Charles will be inviting Beatrice and Eugenie to the Royal Ascot as a public demonstration of his support.

The annual event is typically frequented by many of the royals, but an expert has forecasted that a few seats may lie empty this year.

Jennie Bond, a former BBC royal correspondent, told The Mirror William and Kate might sit this year out, and send a message by doing so.

“There are reports that (Beatrice and Eugenie) have already been invited to join the Royals at Ascot in June,” she said.

“That might be easier because William and Catherine are not great racegoers and may not be at Ascot, and William is determined to put some clear blue water between his family and the Andrew scandal.”

Ms Bond said the princesses had done the right thing by stepping back from Easter events.

“I think it shows that they are sensitive to how difficult the situation is for the rest of the royal family. Their presence at the Easter service would draw a great deal of press attention and speculation at a time when it’s important that the family puts on a united front,” she said.

“So they’ve done the right thing by making themselves scarce at Easter. I imagine they will both be spending time with their husbands and children privately and out of the spotlight.”

Ms Bond said it would be better for everyone if the princesses maintained a low profile for the time being.

Their father, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor will be spending this Easter alone at Sandringham.