Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie both have access to homes within royal palaces but their rent is paid by their uncle, King Charles.
The two princesses, who aren’t working members of the Royal Family, have homes inside palaces which are subject to rent payments. These are set at around 60% of the market rate for the local area. However, a new report has revealed that neither Beatrice nor Eugenie actually pay the rent themselves. Instead, it is covered by The King.
The new investigation, by the National Audit Office, looked at how properties inside palaces and residences belonging to the Crown Estate are used.
Princess Beatrice, 37, has lived at an apartment inside St. James’s Palace, for nearly twenty years. In 2012, it was agreed she would pay rent on the property which is understood to have four bedrooms. However, the report shows that rent payments are covered by King Charles. Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, also have a private home in the Cotswolds.
Princess Eugenie, 36, rents Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace although her payments are also covered by The King. The princess, who is expecting her third baby, splits her time between London and Portugal where she and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, have a home.
The report also found that their father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, had been making money by subletting three cottages in the Royal Lodge development where he lived for over twenty years.
The former prince surrendered the lease on the property last autumn although he didn’t leave until January this year when he moved to a home on the Sandringham estate which is privately owned by King Charles III.
The report could not find out how much Andrew had made in rent while subletting.
It also discovered that Andrew could be due compensation of £301,000 for giving up his lease early. This will be set against money needed for repairs to the property following his departure and it’s believed these will cancel out the compensation.
The NAO report showed that five working royals live in properties leased from the Crown Estate. The Prince and Princess of Wales have just taken a 20 year leases on Forest Lodge on the Windsor Estate. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh rent Bagshot Park while Princess Alexandra, who turns 90 later this year, rents Thatched Lodge at Richmond.
