Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice have lived rent-free for two decades at the King’s expense despite not being working royals, it has been revealed.
The daughters of disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have had their rents covered at both of their properties funded by their uncle Charles.
A report from the National Audit Office revealed that while living at Royal Lodge for a peppercorn rent for over 20 years, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was also renting out three cottages on the property and pocketing the profits himself.
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It appears his daughters have also not been shy of taking advantage of the lucrative royal housing situation.
Eugenie rents Ivy Cottage on the Kensington Palace grounds, with the 36-year-old, who is currently pregnant with her third child with husband Jack Brooksbank, splitting her time between the cottage in the UK and a $6.7 million mansion in Portugal.
Meanwhile, Beatrice resides in a four bedroom, three bathroom apartment in St James’ Palace in central London with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and their two daughters.
Royal Household policy is to charge an adjusted rent of 60 per cent of the open-market value for non-working members of the royal family.
However, the audit found the sisters rents had been based on out-of-date valuations. Until this year, Eugenie’s rent was based on a 2018 valuation and Beatrice’s on a 2020 valuation.
However, neither princess, who are both employed and have rich husbands, would have been affected by the rate rise given the King’s funding for their accommodation.
Norman Baker, the former Liberal Democrat minister, told The Telegraph said Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s subletting arrangements were “outrageous”.
And of Beatrice and Eugenie that: “There’s no way that non-working members of the Royal family should be subsidised by the Duchy of Lancaster. The Royal family is yet again taking the public for a complete ride.”
The revelation comes as Andrew was spotted sporting a sizeable bruise on his face on Thursday, pictured on the royal family’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
Despite speculation, an inside source says the bruising is the result of a “non-serious medical condition” and is not a “cause for concern”.
The source refused to provide information about the cause of the bruising under medical confidentiality.
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