Princess Beatrice was once left "humiliated" after being excluded from a party hosted by Princess Catherine, it has been claimed. Princess Beatrice, 37, and her sister Princess Eugenie, 35, are under pressure over their father's dealings with convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, which has reportedly caused unease in royal circles.

There is no suggestion that the sisters were involved in wrongdoing. However, the controversy continues to cast a shadow over the extended family and may be particularly sensitive for the Prince and Princess of Wales as they shape the monarchy's future. According to society insiders, Princess Catherine's reservations about the York sisters are said to predate the Epstein scandal and the legal troubles of their father, Prince Andrew.

In 2008, Princess Kate and Pippa co-hosted an Eighties-themed charity roller disco to raise funds in memory of their late school friend Thomas Waley Cohen, who died of bone cancer in 2004 aged 20. The event, held at the Renaissance Rooms in London, drew a fashionable crowd dressed in neon and sequins.

Beatrice was reportedly not included on the original guest list. Though an invitation was eventually sent, sources said it did not come directly from Princess Kate and allegedly failed to specify the retro dress code.

Photographs from the evening show Beatrice arriving with her then boyfriend, Dave Clark, wearing a blue dress with a jacket and black ballet flats. In contrast, Princess Kate wore a turquoise top and luminous yellow shorts, while Pippa chose a black sequinned sleeveless top and matching skirt.

High society commentator Catherine Ostler later claimed "there were tears," suggesting Beatrice felt exposed and excluded. The incident reportedly deepened the divide between the York sisters and the Middleton siblings, once dubbed the "sizzler sisters" by the press.

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But signs of frostiness allegedly emerged months earlier at a London Fashion Week show for Issa, the label later credited with designing Princess Kate's blue engagement dress.

At the February presentation, Beatrice and Eugenie were seated in the front row when organisers reportedly asked them to move to accommodate Princess Kate's younger sister, Pippa Middleton.

According to an attendee quoted at the time, the York princesses refused to change seats. "Pathetic, maybe," the source told the Daily Mail, "but however you look at it, people remember these things. They deplete mutual goodwill, if there is any to begin with."

The perceived slight was said to have struck a nerve. Princess Kate is known to be exceptionally close to Pippa, and some observers believe she viewed the episode as a personal affront.