Princess Eugenie, 29, and Princess Beatrice, 31, broke cover for the first time last night since their father Prince Andrew gave a TV interview about his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. While the sisters have stayed silent since the Duke of York announced he would step back from his royal role, a source has claimed they are “deeply distressed.”

Princess Beatrice and fiance Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi kept a low profile as they headed to Annabel’s club in Mayfair to celebrate Edo’s birthday yesterday.

The couple, who will marry next year, did not seem keen to be photographed as they entered the club through the back door.

Princess Eugenie was also photographed out in London as she left the Elephant Family Charity Dinner.

The sisters have kept schtum as their father has faced spectacular fallout from the BBC interview about his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

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The move was widely deemed a PR disaster, with one royal commentator describing it as a “car crash”.

The backlash even saw Prince Andrew’s benefactors withdraw support from his charitable ventures in their droves.

Following the interview Prince Andrew announced he would step back from public duty in an official statement which read: “It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support.

“Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.

The statement added: “I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein.

“His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure.”

An unnamed source told The Daily Beast the sisters are said to be “deeply distressed” about their father’s situation.

The source claimed that by doing the interview: “Andrew was fighting not just for his survival, but for all their survival.”

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They added: “Andrew and Sarah will obviously be worried about how his resignation impacts their children’s future.”

Prince Andrew had hoped the interview would clear the air and said his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein had been “a constant sore in the family.”

While the Duke’s step back from royal life has prompted fears it could affect Princess Beatrice’s wedding plans, Bea is said to want a low-key big day anyway.

A friend of the family told the Daily Beast: “Eugenie and Beatrice are both genuinely really good kids and very close to both their parents.

“They have been through a hell of a lot, and they have never turned on each other which is really pretty extraordinary.”

Their mother Sarah Ferguson tweeted a message of support for her ex-husband ahead of the interview airing.

While many believed Fergie was fully behind the interview, a source has since claimed this was not the case.

The source told the Telegraph: “Sarah never thought it was a good idea.

“She was very clear that if he was to do an interview, it should only be answering four questions for 15 minutes with a journalist she knew, preferably on American TV.

“She was adamant about this.”

The source added Fergie was away when the interview took place and it had already gone ahead when she returned to the UK.

They added: “But then she went away for two weeks and it went ahead when she wasn’t there.”

“She clearly believes that, had she been around, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

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