Princess Beatrice dispensed with royal privilege today to jump on a bus with her young family to escape a snow storm in Switzerland.

As the Duke of York’s eldest daughter the 33-year-old mother of two is tenth in line to the British throne and among the Queen’s most favoured grandchildren.

But the down-to-earth royal decided to use public transport after she and her young family were caught in a blizzard after lunching in the luxury ski resort of Verbier. 

It comes as Beatrice’s father Prince Andrew’s hopes of getting the case by his US sex accuser thrown out of court were hanging by a thread last night. A judge in New York told the royal he would find out ‘pretty soon’ – most likely within days – if his bid to have the lawsuit dismissed would be successful. 

Today, accompanied by her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, their daughter Sienna and son Christopher Wolfe, who is known as ‘Wolfie’, Beatrice made a dash for the number 1 bus to get to the ski chalet where they are guests of Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.

Beatrice and her loved ones alighted from the free ‘navette’ ski-bus towards the top of the mountain after the two-mile, ten-minute journey.  

The princess declined to accept an offer of a lift from the bus stop to the chalet from a fellow skier who offered to help after spotting the family struggling.

The royals then marched up the mountain through the snow to their £17million chalet which boasts fantastic views over the Bagnes Valley. 

Earlier Beatrice was spotted beckoning her property-development husband Edo back into a cafe where he appeared to pay for their lunch. The Royal Family famously do not carry cash. 

Onlooker Barry Beville said: ‘I was flabbergasted to see a Princess get on public transport. She seems really down to earth and friendly. 

‘She acted like any mum would do in a crisis. They needed to get out of the snow storm and get home. I saw her wave down the bus to stop it from leaving.’

Meanwhile her sister Princess Eugenie, 31, went skiing with her husband Jack Brooksbank. The Duchess of York avoided the snow-storm and stayed indoors. 

It comes after a US court was told that the accuser of Beatrice’s father Prince Andrew waived her right to sue him for sexual assault when she signed a $500,000 (£370,000) settlement agreement.

Andrew’s lawyer, Andrew B Brettler, argued during a video conference hearing in New York yesterday that the confidential agreement Virginia Giuffre entered into with Jeffrey Epstein, who she claims trafficked her to have sex with the duke, ended her right to pursue anyone else.

The document, made public on Monday, detailed how Andrew’s accuser received a $500,000 payout in 2009 and agreed to ‘release, acquit, satisfy and forever discharge’ disgraced financier Epstein and ‘any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant’.

The duke’s lawyer said about the claim for damages brought by Ms Giuffre: ‘It is unfair, it is unjust, it should be dismissed.’

Judge Lewis A Kaplan, who is presiding over the case, told the parties at the conclusion of the hearing convened to hear arguments about dismissing the civil lawsuit that he would have a decision ‘very soon’.