As Rupert Murdoch prepares to do battle with three of his own children in a Nevada courtroom this week on behalf of his eldest son, Lachlan, two more of the media mogul’s offspring will remain on the sidelines.

But inside his empire, speculation is mounting over the role his young daughters Grace, 22, and Chloe, 21, could play in the climax of his succession drama.

Mr Murdoch has applied to amend the terms of an “irrevocable” trust which hands his four children from his first two marriages an equal say in the control of his businesses after his death.

The 93-year-old aims to put the future of News Corp and Fox entirely in the hands of Lachlan, 53, whose robust Right-wing politics closely match his own.

Meanwhile, Prudence, 66, Elizabeth, 56 and James, 51, have more moderate instincts and the numbers on the trust to push influential outlets such as Fox News in a new direction after their father departs.