William’s kiss for Beatrice showed that King Charles ‘is reasserting control over Royal Family’ and wants his son to welcome ‘freeloading cousins’ back into fold

Prince William kissing Princess Beatrice shows King Charles has ‘reestablished control’ over the Royal Family and wants his son to welcome his ‘freewheeling’ cousins ​​back into the fold, a royal expert has claimed.

William appeared keen to preserve the ‘bond’ between himself and Beatrice as they attended their cousin Peter Phillips’ wedding to Harriet Sperling in Kemble, Gloucestershire, yesterday.

It came just hours after an ‘outrageous’ National Audit report was published which revealed Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie had never paid a penny of rent.

The duo hold no royal duties, have their own careers and high-flying husbands, but have been living for free in exclusive palace properties for almost two decades.

Beatrice and Eugenie had already taken a step back from the spotlight following the collapse of their parents (Sarah Ferguson and the disgraced former Duke of York Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor) over their friendship with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Royal writer Tom Sykes claimed William’s affection for his cousin yesterday showed his father Charles attempting to regain control, despite recent scandals threatening to divide the Royal Family.

‘Yesterday was a statement that Charles was withdrawing power. “This is what Charles wanted to see yesterday,” he said.

‘William made it clear that he was a loyal servant and would ultimately act in accordance with his father’s wishes, according to the military foundations of the Royal Family.’

Meanwhile, royal expert Tom Bower told the Daily Mail that William’s affection for Beatrice was ‘not clever PR’, adding that any warmth towards the York sisters would have to be shown privately.

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice arrived at the Royal wedding yesterday

Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William leave the Royal wedding on Saturday

Mr Sykes wrote in his publication The Royalist: ‘People in the real world are furious at the treatment of these two sisters, whom they regard as con artists and freeloaders from a family with a long history of fraud and freeloading.’

According to Mr Bower, Charles must take the family’s ‘flawed image’ into account when navigating William’s interactions with the Yorks.

He told the Mail: ‘Undoubtedly, it would be wrong to ban sisters from attending family weddings, especially if they have been invited by their cousins. And once there, how could a civilized Briton not expect the Prince of Wales to greet his relative? That would be extremely rude and uncivilized.

‘The solution would be to limit displays of affection to areas beyond the cameras. Sisters should stay away from any controversial encounters in public. Both Beatrice and Eugenie need to accept that, rightly or wrongly, they have been tainted by their parents’ gross greed.’

Mr Bower added: ‘The Royal Family needs to consider its tarnished image. Embracing sisters in public is not smart PR. Kissing them makes you uneasy.’

The royal expert agrees with Mr Sykes that the ‘real world’ will be outraged to see the sisters welcomed back so soon after their rent-free life was revealed.

Mr Bower said: ‘Many will be horrified that the sisters were welcomed into the royal family in the same week it was revealed they were living rent-free in a royal palace. And the critics are right. It looks really bad.’

But others have argued that William was always close to his cousins ​​and was not blamed by senior royals for his parents’ actions.

Royal writer Phil Dampier told the Mail: ‘The King and Prince William have always loved Beatrice and Eugenie and do not blame them for their parents’ sins.

‘The warm welcome they received at Peter Phillips’ wedding shows they are still in a family atmosphere and I’m sure they will still be invited to Sandringham for Christmas and other events.’

He added: ‘When William and Harry were young, they jokingly called Beatrice “Queen Bea” because if tragedy had befallen them before they had children, she was likely to take the throne.

‘They have always had a good relationship and William’s kiss showed the love between them.’

Beatrice and Eugenie’s appearance at the wedding came just hours after it was revealed the sisters had been secretly funded for years by their grandmother Queen Elizabeth and now their uncle Charles.

Kate dazzles in pale dress for Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s Royal wedding

Princess Catherine adjusts her hat after yesterday’s royal wedding

Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and their husbands arrived for the wedding yesterday

Former Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker, a long-standing critic of the royal finances, said: ‘‘Once again the Royal Family are taking the public on quite a journey.’

The York siblings had lived at St James’s Palace since 2008, before Eugenie, now 36, moved into Ivy Cottage in the Kensington Palace grounds in 2018. Eugenie currently splits her time between London and her £3.6million Portuguese home.

Her neighbors are said to include F1 racing drivers and fashion designer Christian Louboutin.

Beatrice, 37, was staying in the flat she shared with her husband, property developer Edo Mapelli Mozzi, and his family, and also owned a multi-million pound home in the Cotswolds.

According to the report, both rents are paid to the Royal Household entirely by Charles from the Privy Purse, which consists of the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster and other private funds. There was no taxpayer money at stake.

But the houses are located in occupied royal palaces, maintained by public funding through the Sovereign Grant, which is effectively repaid by the monarch on their behalf.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘We are grateful to the National Audit Office for this report, which is consistent with the Royal Household’s commitment to transparency.

‘We hope that the findings will help to correct, clarify or contextualise some points about the royal estates.

‘As set out in the report, regulations for properties managed by the Royal Household vary according to a number of factors that ensure proper occupancy of residences, depending on their location, tenants and purpose.’

A spokesman for the Crown Estate said: ‘The Crown Estate welcomes the National Audit Office’s review, which confirmed that leases with members of the Royal Family were agreed in line with independent, professional advice and open market valuations.’