Beatrice and Eugenie have lived rent-free at Palaces for YEARS: Andrew’s daughters do no royal duties, have jobs and are married… but don’t pay a penny

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have never personally paid a penny of rent, despite living in exclusive palace estates for almost two decades.

A report by the National Audit Office has revealed some of the cushy deals working and non-working royals enjoy when it comes to housing.

These include Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s two daughters, who hold no royal duties but have been secretly financed for years by their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, and now their uncle, King Charles.

Both women have their own careers, high-flying husbands and multimillion-pound homes elsewhere, and are sure to face questions about why they can’t pay their own way.

Other revelations in the report were branded ‘outrageous’ last night.

It was revealed that an embarrassed Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was allowed to rent out three properties on his leased Windsor estate – the Royal Lodge – for staff and potentially pocket the profits.

And he was impeached during World War II for his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein a few years before the end of his 75-year lease. He could be entitled to ‘compensation’ of more than £300,000 from the Crown Estate after being forced out of the grade-listed mansion.

Questions are also likely to be raised about the late Queen’s cousins, the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, who benefit from a long-term, state-backed arrangement at their own luxury apartment in Kensington Palace.

Meanwhile, Princess Alexandra, 89, a cousin of the late Queen, is renting a mansion in scenic Richmond Park in south-west London.

A trust signed a lease on his behalf with the Crown Estate until 2144, when he was 207 years old.

The NAO report was drawn up in the scandal of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s ‘pepper rent’ deal for the Royal Lodge, one of the last trappings of royal life after he was stripped of his titles and status following the revelation of his dealings with pedophile financier Epstein.

Although the report is realistic and does not seek to examine value for money, it contains a number of intriguing revelations that are likely to be considered by MPs in the coming months.

Former Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker, a long-standing critic of the royal finances, said: ‘This is outrageous. If you look at Andrew, this adds insult to injury.

‘This shows absolute disdain for taxpayers. The money should have gone to the Crown Estate, not his pocket.’

He said of Beatrice and Eugenie: ‘There is no way that non-working members of the Royal Family will be subsidized by the Duchy of Lancaster. ‘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.

And for several years its adjusted rents, which had been reduced because the Royal Household properties required tenants with security clearances, were based, like others, on outdated open market valuations.

The report found that even the self-imposed 60 percent rule was not always adhered to, and some properties were found to be seriously below market value.

Sources said the arrangement for Beatrice and Eugenie was made during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who was very fond of her grandchildren, and the King agreed to honor it.

However, they emphasized that all financial matters are reviewed regularly.

Sources also insisted Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was unlikely to receive even a penny of his potential compensation because the cost of repairs needed at the dilapidated Royal Lodge since his release would wipe out everything he was owed.

It appears that any rent resulting from the letting of the three accompanying cottages to staff was only meant to cover maintenance and running costs, not to make a profit for himself.

However, the NAO said these figures were not disclosed to them, so there was no way to independently verify this.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, who in their heyday were known as ‘Tenants’ because they ‘went anywhere for a hot meal’, benefit from a similar arrangement despite major public outcry over their living arrangements in the early 2000s.

They were originally gifted the use of Apartment 10 at Kensington Palace as a wedding present in 1978.

For decades, they paid just a nominal £69 a week (about £3,600 a year) for utilities and maintenance.

When this was made public it was announced that they would henceforth pay a market value of £120,000 per year for the property; this would have been borne by Queen Elizabeth herself until 2010, as they do not undertake official duties and do not receive any taxpayer-funded income.

What has not been revealed until now is that he later maintained the agreement and that the King specifically honored his mother’s devotion to the couple, who were both in their 80s and in poor health.

The NAO examined two organisations, The Crown Estate (TCE) and The Royal House, both of which have agreements with the Royal Family regarding their homes.

TCE, which manages a £13.4bn portfolio including around 2,500 properties nationally, is a public company that operates independently of government to maintain and develop property and land assets on behalf of the Crown.

‘The best price under the circumstances’ is required to be obtained when renting or selling properties, including those rented to members of the Royal Family.

Meanwhile, the Royal Household directly supports members of the Royal Family and maintains the Occupied Royal Palaces (including Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace and Kensington Palace) through the Sovereign Grant, an annual fund provided to the monarch by the UK government to cover royal duties, staff costs and the maintenance of royal residences.

It manages 255 properties where members of the Royal Family, their households and staff, as well as private tenants live.

Princess Alexandra, 89, the late Queen’s cousin, rents her home, Thatched House Lodge in Richmond, from the Crown Estate through a trust that can offer inheritance benefits.

In 1995, II. It paid £670,000 for a second lease of the grade-listed six-bedroom property until 2144.

He also pays an annual rent of just £1,500 for his unique 17th-century house in a prime area of ​​south-west London, which would be worth tens of millions of pounds if sold.

Daughter Marina Ogilvy has an assured shorthold tenancy in a three-bed cottage on Windsor Manor, for which she pays annual rent of £17,436.

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 the findings will help to correct, clarify or contextualise a number of points regarding royal estates.

‘As the report notes, regulations for properties managed by the Royal Household vary depending on a number of factors that will ensure that residences are appropriately occupied, 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 its leases with members of the Royal Family were agreed in line with independent, professional advice and open market valuations.’