Fresh controversy has engulfed Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, with their daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice facing new scrutiny over their ties to the disgraced couple.

Questions surrounding the sisters’ finances and royal status intensified following claims that King Charles and Prince William sought greater transparency from the York family behind closed doors.

According to royal biographer Andrew Lownie, the princesses were reportedly asked to undergo a financial review but declined to cooperate.

The allegations appear in the updated edition of Lownie’s explosive book, The Rise and Fall of the House of York, which revisits the long-running scandals surrounding the former Duke and Duchess of York.

The release contains fresh details about the family’s finances, royal standing and internal tensions within the monarchy.

Speaking to The Mirror, Lownie claimed Beatrice and Eugenie had become “caught in the middle” as the royal family attempted to distance themselves from the fallout after the former Duke and Duchess of York were stripped of their royal titles.

Despite no longer being working royals, the sisters continue to use their titles while maintaining high-profile international lifestyles, something Lownie suggests causes unease within the royal family.

“The daughters are clearly footballs in this thing,” Mr Lownie said.

“The fact that they are still swanning around the Middle East, using their titles ... it doesn’t send out the right signals if you want to work your passage back. It’s confusing.”

The author further claims Ms Ferguson could be attempting to secure long-term financial support from the monarchy and figuring out where she fits in royal circles.

“That may be what Fergie’s negotiating at the moment. Can she get a nice pension from them and not have to do an Oprah interview,” he said.

“I think it’s a very schizophrenic relationship at the moment with the royals and Beatrice and Eugenie.

“One minute they’re very publicly being told they’re not going to be invited to Ascot, then they are going. You get the sense of distancing and I think there’s possibly two schools of thought here.

“There’s Camilla, William and Kate, who see the reputational damage and want to keep them at arm’s length, and then there’s Charles who is a bit sentimental and feels obligated to be protective”.

The claims emerge as the UK police made an extraordinary appeal for witnesses in sexual misconduct claims against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

In a move that will further damage the royal family, UK police released a statement saying they were assessing reports that a woman was taken to Windsor in 2010 for “sexual purposes”.

It comes after Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in a public office in relation to his role as a UK trade envoy.

It is believed the statement relates to reports that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein allegedly trafficked a woman into the UK specifically to have sex with the former prince.

“We have engaged with the woman’s legal representative to confirm that, should she wish to report this to police, it will be taken seriously and handled with care, sensitivity and respect for her privacy and her right for anonymity,” the Thames Valley Police statement said.

“We recognise how difficult it can be to speak about experiences of this nature, and any contact with police will be led by her wishes, when and if she feels ready and able to do so.”