Princess Beatrice and Eugenie ‘reject William’s hope for clean break’ | Royal | News
The National Audit Office (NAO) also found that their father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, earned an undisclosed private income from renting out three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate while paying a peppercorn rent for more than two decades. While William is in favor of a “clean break” between the princesses and senior royals, the sisters have steadfastly ruled out any change in their living situation, according to the Daily Mail. A source told the newspaper that Andrew’s daughters had resisted both his “ethical check” and the King’s offer to provide the services of a senior adviser to ensure their reputations were not further damaged by the media storm surrounding their father.
They added that Eugenie, in particular, was “known to be very fond of” her home in Kensington Palace.
“He really doesn’t want to go, even though the option of paying the rent himself was on the table with the publicly disclosed amount,” they continued.
“William would prefer to make a clean break and get out of the royal gated community.”
Princess Beatrice lives with her millionaire property developer husband primarily in a private flat at St James’s Palace in central London.
According to the NAO, King currently pays rent for both properties, with the amount adjusted based on open market valuations that are several years out of date.
Until this year, Eugenie’s rent for Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace was based on a 2018 valuation, while Beatrice’s flat was based on a 2020 valuation.
Eugenie’s rent was 50% of the 2018 open market value from 2020 to 2021 and ranged from 55% in 2022 to 63% in 2025, while Beatrice’s rent was 60% of the 2020 market value from 2020 to 2021 and ranged from 62% to 68% from 2020 to 2021. NAO said 2022-2025.
Current rental rates are 64% of the 2026 open market valuation for Eugenie and 68% of the 2026 valuation for Beatrice.
However, both rents are paid to the Royal Household entirely by Charles from the Privy Purse, which consists of the income of the Duchy of Lancaster and other private funds.
