Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events.
The York sisters are devastated days after their father, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, was escorted out of the Royal Lodge.
Royal expert Robert Jobson told Hello! magazine: "They must be overwhelmed and aghast by this."
He continued:"What was [Sarah Ferguson] thinking? Taking her daughters—the late Queen's granddaughters—to meet this vile convicted criminal [Jeffrey Epstein]? It really beggars belief."
A source added that "the crisis is taking its toll on the princesses, and on the family unit they once held so dear."
"The sisters are not abandoning their father," an insider told Hello! magazine. "They aren't turning their backs on him. But everything is obviously very strained and hard."
"She is in a bad way and feeling very guilty." He continued as he spoke of Princess Eugenie: "The last time I was in touch with her, she was worried about her mental health and mulling over the 'what ifs.'"
The insider continued: "The girls have been very sympathetic to [Ferguson], but that might start to unravel. You have to wonder if they will ever be seen in public with her again."