The National Audit Office (NAO) also found that their father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, received an undisclosed private income from subletting three cottages on his Royal Lodge estate while paying a peppercorn rent for over two decades. While William is in favour of a “clean break” between the princesses and senior working royals, the sisters have steadfastedly rejected any prospect of a change in their living situations, according to the Daily Mail. A source told the newspaper that Andrew’s daughters had resisted both an “ethics check” and an offer from the King to provide the services of a senior adviser to ensure their reputations are not further damaged by the media storm surrounding their father.
They added that Eugenie, in particular, is “known to be very fond” of her Kensington Palace home.
“She really doesn’t want to go, although the option of paying the rent herself, with the amount made public, has been put on the table,” they continued.
“William would prefer that a clean break be made and that she move out of the royal gated community.”
Princess Beatrice primarily lives in a private apartment at St James’s Palace in central London with her millionaire property developer husband.
The King currently pays rent for both properties, according to the NAO, with the adjusted sum based on out-of-date open-market valuations over a number of years.
Up until this year, Eugenie’s rent of Ivy Cottage in Kensington Palace was based on a 2018 valuation and Beatrice’s apartment on a 2020 valuation.
Eugenie’s rent was 50% of the 2018 open market value from 2020 to 2021, and ranged from 55% in 2022 to 63% in 2025, while rent on Beatrice’s was 60% of the 2020 market value from 2020-2021 and ranged from 62% to 68% between 2022-2025, the NAO said.
The current rental rates are 64% of a 2026 open-market valuation for Eugenie and 68% of a 2026 valuation for Beatrice.
But both rents are paid to the Royal Household entirely by Charles out of the Privy Purse, which is made up of his Duchy of Lancaster income and other private funds.