Princess BeatriceMen at the Virgin Galactic launch party in New York this week found themselves confronted by something rather out of the ordinary: a princess fifth in line to the British throne in the gents’ toilets.

Princess Beatrice was at the party with boyfriend Dave Clark who works for Virgin Galactic when the pair had an argument. According to onlookers, the row was sparked over the Ziggy Stardust-style face paint Dave was wearing along with the rest of the Virgin staff.

An eyewitness explained: “He felt a bit daft with the face paint on, so just wanted to wipe it off. But Bea thought it looked funny, and was demanding he keep it on.”

When Dave disappeared into the toilets to wash it off, Beatrice didn’t think twice about following him: “There were several men in the toilets, and they all couldn’t believe it when she stormed in, screaming after her embarrassed boyfriend.”

“The argument got quite heated, with Bea the more enthusiastic of the pair. She tried to get me involved in the argument, asking what I thought of the make-up.”

“I was pretty terrified, and so was her boyfriend. She won in the end and he trudged out with his tail between his legs - glitter still all over his face.”

Beatrice is said to already have put down a deposit for a seat on one of the first flights in sub-orbit. For £100,000 a ticket, Passengers will experience six minutes of weightlessness at around 100km above the earth. The first flights are scheduled to take place in 2009.