The Prince of Wales threatened to remove Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s royal titles if they did not persuade their father Prince Andrew to vacate the Royal Lodge, it has been claimed.
The former BBC journalist, who famously interviewed the prince in 2019 days before he stepped back from royal duties, said Prince William put pressure on his cousins during a meeting last week.
However, no such meeting took place and the titles of the sisters remains unchanged.
Emily Maitlis told listeners of her podcast, The News Agents, that Buckingham Palace had tipped off the media to events happening inside the Royal Lodge on Thursday as King Charles returned from the Vatican.
She described the tip off as being “really quite odd” which lead to news crews scrambling to get to Windsor, including a BBC helicopter, after being told there “may be passing traffic” outside the Royal Lodge.
Maitlis told the podcast: “There was a question over whether there had been, earlier in the day, a meeting between Prince William and the princesses, Beatrice and Eugenie, saying, ‘You guys have to get your dad to move out of Royal Lodge, otherwise we will start re-examining the state of your own titles’.
READ MORE: Where Prince Andrew and Fergie could live if they vacate the Royal Lodge
READ MORE: King Charles heckled over Prince Andrew scandal
READ MORE: ‘Prince Andrew his done – Virginia Giuffre’s memoir has sealed his fate’
“They are, at the moment, allowed to be princesses, but there was a bit of pressure, we understand, being put on the princesses to say, ‘You know, this is going to happen.’ Obviously, you can see why Andrew, as a father, would want to keep his daughters happy and keep their titles in place, come what may.
“So what we learned what was going to happen on Thursday was that [Charles], fresh from the Vatican and his audience with the Pope, was going to come via Royal Lodge, to be seen, in other words, to be sort of reading the riot act to his brother.
“Nobody was going to film the conversation, clearly, no was going to see him stepping out the car, but there was going to be the moment, caught on camera, of King Charles’ car close to or heading towards Royal Lodge.
“What happened, I understand, was that the palace then got very nervous, and when they saw the choppers and helicopters, they thought, ‘This has all got too big, this has got out of control.’ They cancelled the whole thing. The King just went straight home and never came by there.”
But sources close to both Prince William and Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have denied the meeting took place.
Prince William, who does not have the power to remove the titles of his cousins, is believed to be close with both Beatrice and Eugenie.
The sisters remain unaffected by the scandal that has engulfed their parents in recent weeks and they will be continued to be included in the royal family’s gatherings, including Christmas.
Pressure is mounting on Prince Andrew to move out of the Royal Lodge, the 30-bedroom mansion he lives in with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
There are reports he could move to Frogmore Cottage, the former home of Prince Harry and Meghan, while Ferguson could have Adelaide Cottage nearby.
Prince Andrew announced he would give up the use of his titles, including Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, on October 27. Andrew also gave up his membership of the prestigious Order of the Garter.
The decision was made, Andrew said, because of the “continued accusations about me”.
Pressure had come from King Charles, it is understood, and the Prince of Wales, who recently told a television program he was set on making the monarchy “fit for purpose”, saying of his future as King: “Change is on my agenda. Change for good. I don’t fear it”.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source honey.nine.com.au ’
