Inside Princess Beatrice's 'traumatic' life in shadows as royal expert makes major demand over money

7am Inside Princess Beatrice's 'traumatic' life in shadows as royal expert makes major demand over money Princess Beatrice celebrates her 38th birthday today after having to endure a year of constant revelations about her parents, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson Princess Beatrice might be turning another year older today - but the last 12 months have brought her little to celebrate. The mum-of-two has had to endure revelation after revelation about her parents, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, and their association with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein with the release of the Epstein files, which led to them being stripped of their royal titles. Not only that, but Beatrice herself and sister Princess Eugenie also appeared in the documents released by the US state department in January, with suggestions the sisters had accompanied their mother to the United States to meet Epstein in 2009. Just days earlier, he had been released from prison for soliciting a minor for prostitution. The princesses were 19 and 20 years old at the time. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by either Beatrice or Eugenie. She has also had to see her father, the former Duke of York booted out of his grand Royal Lodge home to live in exile on the Sandringham estate and then arrested on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Her mother Fergie has gone to ground with just one sighting of her back in April at an Austrian ski resort since last September. However, her parents are understood to have attended the christening of her daughter Athena in December, which took place at the Chapel Royal in St James' Palace, but both were not seen in public. Unsurprisingly, Beatrice, who turns 38 today, has kept a low profile, staying away from many public events - and only being seen briefly with the wider Royal Family at the wedding of Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips to new wife Harriet in early June. And royal expert Jennie Bond told the Mirror : “Beatrice, Eugenie and their mother Sarah have certainly battened down the hatches since the Epstein files were released. “Apart from at Peter Phillips’ wedding, we haven’t seen any public appearances by the sisters – and Fergie seems to have disappeared entirely from public view. “I’m sure Beatrice could never have imagined that the year would turn out to be so traumatic, with her father’s arrest and exile and her mother in hiding. “She must surely have also been questioning her own judgment over allowing her mother to take her and Eugenie to lunch with Epstein just days after he had been released from jail. The sisters have been caught up in the scandal and their reputations tarnished.” More scrutiny of Beatrice followed in June, when it emerged that she personally pays nothing in rent for her London apartment inside St James’ Palace - with the King footing the bill. It came to light when following an investigation by the National Audit Office that found Beatrice, who is not a working royal, has the rent for her London pad picked up by the Privy Purse - the King’s private income from the Duchy of Lancaster. It sparked outrage at the time, with former government minister and royal finances expert Norman Baker branding it a ‘sweetheart deal’. It is understood the arrangement for the Privy Purse to pay the York sister's rent was put in place by the late Queen. And Jennie added: “In my opinion, she would be wise to either give up her apartment at St James’s Palace or make it known that she had opted to pay a market rent. The easiest option is probably to rent another London base privately.” In the wake of all the controversy, Beatrice as well as sister Eugenie stayed away from high profile events such as the Royal Family’s Easter gathering at Windsor Castle. It is understood with the agreement of the King, they made alternative plans. And last week, an opinion poll claimed her popularity had slid from a 37 per cent approval rating to 24 per cent, lower than Prince Harry. Neither sister was at Royal Ascot either this year, which is usually a favourite event for them - and one where they often take place in the carriage procession. However, Beatrice’s one big public appearance at Peter Phillips’ wedding, where she was seen being greeted by the likes of older cousin, Prince William. And according to Jennie, this was significant. She explained: “Beatrice does still seem to have the support of her uncle, the King, and of the wider royal family – hence the invitation to their cousin’s wedding. And it could be that we see the sisters up at Balmoral this summer.” But amid the York family turmoil, there has been a bright spot recently - the news that Eugenie has welcomed a third child - a daughter - making Beatrice an auntie again. The little girl joins Beatrice’s nephews August and Ernest as children of Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank. Meanwhile, Beatrice will no doubt have them as well as her own husband, property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, his son Wolfie and their daughters Sienna and Athena, on hand to celebrate her birthday today. The family has a £3.5million home in Cotswolds, while Beatrice holds down a job as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at the software firm, Afiniti. And Jennie added: “I think Beatrice is quite right to maintain a low public profile, enjoy her family life, her job and – hopefully – a very happy birthday. “Last year Edoardo shared a picture of her with a loving caption: ‘Happy Birthday to my BEAUTIFUL wife. You are the greatest. We love you so much.’ So we can presumably expect an equally affectionate post this year.”