Prince Andrew will not accompany Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie for annual family trip to Verbier

Prince Andrew is lying low in the wake of his connection to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. He will not join his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and his ex-wife Sarah, the Duchess of York for their annual family vacation at their 13 million pounds ski chalet, an insider has claimed.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will join their mother Sarah at the Swiss village Verbier in the New Year, Daily Mail reports. The royal siblings will spend Christmas will their grandmother Queen Elizabeth II at her Sandringham estate where other members of the royal family will also be present.

A source said that Prince Andrew will be "lying low back at home" over the festive season. The 59-year-old has stepped down from public duties after reportedly being "sacked" by the Prince Charles and the queen in November over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. The source claimed the Andrew will be at home during the festive period.

Meanwhile, Sarah will spend Christmas in Switzerland, a friend of the duchess told. The former couple purchased a 22,000 pounds-a-week property in the exclusive Swiss village Verbier in 2014. The Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson purchased the seven-bedroom chalet in the Alps as a "family investment".

The couple were divorced in 1996, but they support each other regularly. It was reported that Andrew was away at the property with his closest friends when news of the Epstein sex scandal broke in 2015.

The queen's son had been with his ex-wife and their younger daughter Eugenie when claims he had sex with an under-age girl were made in documents lodged at a US court.

Virginia Roberts has alleged that under pressure from Epstein and his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell she slept with the prince on three occasions, including once as a 17-year-old. The prince has denied the accusations.

In a recent BBC Newsnight interview, Andrew said had "no recollection" of meeting Roberts and produced a number of alibis, including being in a Pizza Express in Woking at the time.

In the bombshell interview, Andrew didn't show any remorse over his friendship with a convicted paedophile. After the interview, he was forced to step down.

Meanwhile, Andrew and his family visit the exclusive Swiss resort several times a year, including for a winter break in the New Year and for his birthday in February. Sarah has relocated to the property after she moved out of Andrew's official residence, Royal Lodge at Windsor.

Princess Eugenie also met her husband Jack Brooksbank on a skiing holiday in Verbier eight years ago, when Eugenie was 20 and drinks executive Jack was 24.