The crunch will come at Christmas.
Will Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie spend the big day with the King and the royals at Sandringham or cheer up their beleaguered and disgraced parents at home?
The signs are ominous for Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, now plain Sarah Ferguson.
My hunch is that their daughters will head for Norfolk — as they did last year — and are increasingly trying to distance themselves from a toxic “Brand York.”
Up to now the sisters have been seen as innocent victims of the whole alleged Epstein affair and King Charles doesn’t want to punish them for the sins of their parents.
But questions are now being asked about how much Bea and Eugenie — no longer girls but mums aged 37 and 35 — knew about Andy and Fergie’s activities.
It’s been revealed that billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein claimed Sarah AND her daughters, then aged 20 and 19, were the first to visit him when he came out of prison in 2009, claims denied by the Yorks.
But mud sticks and there must be a fear that some of the cash Epstein gave to Fergie trickled down to Bea and Eugenie.
Epstein was a guest at Bea’s lavish 18th birthday party at Windsor Castle in 2006, along with his sidekick, jailed Ghislaine Maxwell, not to mention depraved and convicted film mogul Harvey Weinstein!
And let’s remember Beatrice was instrumental in encouraging her dad to make his ill-fated interview with the BBC denying he had ever met Virginia Giuffre.
So for the sake of their futures within the royal family, and their charity work, Bea and Eugenie will now want to keep away from their parents in public, while supporting them emotionally in private.
They will be feeling nervous that the spotlight could be shone on them as well.
Last week, Bea was seen driving into Royal Lodge to spend time with them, and I’m told she and Eugenie are “very worried” about Fergie.
Sarah’s sister Jane even flew over from Australia to comfort her.
“Andrew and Sarah have brought it on themselves by their behaviour but there’s only so much a human being can take,” a close friend told me.
“Their daughters are worried sick about them.”
Both daughters have kids and careers, but their royal status matters.
They are ninth and 12th in line to the throne, and Bea is a Counsellor of State, meaning she could theoretically stand in for the monarch if he were ill or abroad.
The sisters were due to attend a recent charity Pink Ball in London but pulled out, and a birthday party for Fergie at Royal Lodge was cancelled at the last minute.
Bea and Eugenie will keep a low profile for the time being, particularly as they are involved with anti-sex trafficking charities.
Happily both have strong marriages and dote on their children.
But It seems likely they will all enjoy a merrier Christmas with their cousins and the King, rather than sitting around a table of doom and gloom at Royal Lodge.
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