Overview
- The National Audit Office published a report on Friday that shows Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have lived in royal‑palace apartments at adjusted rents paid from the monarch’s Privy Purse, with rents set well below open‑market values in 2020–25.
- The audit details how the York sisters’ charges were calculated from historic valuations — for example Eugenie’s rent moved from roughly 50% of a 2018 market valuation in 2020–21 toward the low‑60s percent by 2025 while Beatrice’s rent tracked about 60–68% of a 2020 valuation over the same period.
- The report also confirms that Prince Andrew held a long repair lease on Royal Lodge at a nominal ‘peppercorn’ rent and sublet three properties on the estate, and his October 2025 departure from Royal Lodge has been linked in reporting to private family negotiations over his daughters’ housing.
- Buckingham Palace and The Crown Estate welcomed the NAO review and said leases followed professional advice, but MPs have signalled a Public Accounts Committee inquiry and critics say the findings blur where Privy Purse payments end and public funding for palace upkeep begins.
- The coverage has intensified scrutiny of non‑working royals who receive housing benefits, changed public optics for the family with visible gestures of reintegration at recent events, and could increase political pressure for clearer rules on royal residence funding and transparency.