Prince Andrew remains in hiding at Balmoral even as daughter Beatrice welcomes baby girl

Prince Andrew refused to risk being served papers in the sex abuse case against him even at the cost of missing being there with his family when his eldest daughter Princess Beatrice welcomed her first child.

The Princess, who tied the knot with Italian noble Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in July last year, announced on Monday that she gave birth to a baby girl at a hospital in London on Saturday. The newborn is the second grandchild for Prince Andrew, and it was being speculated that he would leave his Balmoral hideaway to meet the baby.

However, the 61-year-old ended up staying at the Scottish estate, which is providing him some legal privilege due to the presence of his mother Queen Elizabeth II at the property. His ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who was staying with him at the estate, went alone to London to visit their daughter and grandchild.

A friend of the Duchess told the Mail, "She's perfect and Sarah is absolutely smitten. She's always very proud of both girls but to have two grandchildren in a year is a total joy."

It is rumoured that the Duke of York would only be able to see his grandchild if Beatrice travels with her to Scotland, as there is no clue as to when he will return to Windsor. A source told the Sun, "Andrew has made it quite clear that he wasn't leaving Balmoral. It would appear the advice to him was to stay in hiding and miss the whole thing."

According to a report in the Mirror, Andrew is beginning to panic about the sexual assault case filed against him by Jeffrey Epstein's accuser Virginia Giuffre, and is even considering firing his "shambolic" legal team.

A source close to him said, "The plan, if you can call it a plan, has been shambolic from the start. Now it's all come to a head. He is extremely worried and the crisis talks are so he can get off the back foot. He knows he's in a full-on crisis. The damage to his reputation is there for all to see but now he's feeling the pressure from his family, though none of them have become directly involved. The whole thing's a disaster."

Meanwhile, Giuffre's legal team led by David Boies has continued its efforts to serve the legal papers to Andrew, and emailed the documents to his US lawyer Andrew Brettler in Los Angeles on Monday. However, Boies clarified to The Sun that they would not try to serve the royal when he is visiting his newborn granddaughter.