Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are understood to have dropped out of a major society gala after Prince Andrew surrendered his royal titles.

The father of the 37 and 35-year-old princesses announced on Friday that he would no longer be known as the Duke of York amid intense public scrutiny resulting from several scandals.

Soon after, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Beatrice and Eugenie would retain their own titles as princesses as they remain granddaughters of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Following the announcement, it has now emerged that the two sisters decided against appearing at the plush inaugural Pink Ball held at the British Museum in London on Saturday night.

The event, billed as a competitor to New York’s world-famous Met Gala, was attended by notables including Sir Mick Jagger, Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, Naomi Campbell, Maya Jama, James Norton, Rishi Sunak and Sir Sadiq Khan.

Also photographed on the night were Lady Kitty, Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer, the nieces of Princess Diana through her younger brother, Earl Charles Spencer.

However, Beatrice and Eugenie did not make an appearance as their parents grappled with losing the use of their ducal titles the previous evening.

The two sisters are understood to have been listed on the extensive guest list of the high society soiree.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were absent from the inaugural Pink Ball on Saturday night

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Neither publicised plans to attend ahead of the event, and it is not yet known why they did not make an appearance, per Hello! Magazine.

The Pink Ball is the first event in an upcoming series by the British Museum in their quest to rival Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s own gala.

For the inaugural gathering, guests were invited to theme their outfits around the colour pink in reference to the museum’s current exhibition, Ancient India: Living Traditions.

Beatrice and Eugenie’s absence could be understandable, given the intense public attention of their family after the announcement just hours earlier.

Princess Diana’s neices, Lady Kitty, Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer, were in attednece

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In a statement released on Friday evening, Prince Andrew said: “In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.”

“I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.

“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me.

“As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me,” he concluded.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have surrendered the use of their royal titles

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As well as relinquishing his title as Duke of York, Andrew is also no longer a member of the Order of the Garter.

Like his daughters, he will retain his princely title as the son of a former monarch, Queen Elizabeth.

His former wife, Sarah Ferguson, the mother of Beatrice and Eugenie, has also lost the use of her title of Duchess of York.

Friday’s developments came about as a result of mounting outrage over Andrew and Fergie’s links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the upcoming posthumous memoir of the prince’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre.

Prince Andrew has consistently and strongly denied the allegations made against him by Ms Giuffre.