King Charles has been secretly funding Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie's below-market-average rent, an investigation has found.
The monarch, 77, has been footing the bill for his nieces' accommodation in royal palaces, despite neither of them being working royals, according to a report published by the National Audit Office (NAO) into the royal family's residential property arrangements.
Princess Beatrice, 37, has an apartment in St James's Palace, while Eugenie, 36, has Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace – both Royal Household properties within the occupied royal palaces.
However, for several years, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's daughters' adjusted rents – reduced because the Royal Household properties require tenants with security clearance – were calculated on out-of-date open market valuations.
Former Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker said: "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."
How much have Beatrice and Eugenie been paying for their homes?
Up until this year, Eugenie’s rent of Ivy Cottage in Kensington Palace was based on a 2018 valuation and Beatrice’s apartment in St James’s Palace on a 2020 valuation, the report found.
© Getty ImagesEugenie’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 now 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 comes from his private Duchy of Lancaster income.
© InstagranHowever, the NAO did not release details of how much the King pays for Eugenie and Beatrice’s rent, saying the amounts were private.
The York sisters are non-working royals who both have jobs, with Beatrice married to multimillionaire property developer, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Eugenie is married to marketing executive Jack Brooksbank.
The princesses faced scrutiny when their names appeared in the recent Jeffrey Epstein files, with one email exchange suggesting their mother, Sarah Ferguson, took them to see the convicted paedophile in the US days after he was released from prison for child sex crimes.
© Getty ImagesWhich royals' homes are paid for?
The King is also paying for non-working royal Princess Michael of Kent's rent for her apartment at Kensington Palace, the investigation found.
The Royal Household, meanwhile, provides 11 working members of the royal family with seven residences within the occupied royal palaces at no cost in exchange for their official duties.
© Getty ImagesThe royals are William and Kate – who have Apartment 1A in Kensington Palace; the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke of Kent; the Princess Royal; the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh; Princess Alexandra; and the King and Queen.
A spokesperson for The Crown Estate said: "The Crown Estate welcomes the National Audit Office’s review which confirms its leases with members of the royal family were agreed in line with independent, professional advice and open market valuations.
"We look forward to discussing the report further with the Public Accounts Committee in due course."
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: "We are grateful to the National Audit Office for this report, which is in line with The Royal Household’s commitment to transparency. We hope that the findings will help correct, clarify or contextualise a number of points regarding Royal properties.
"As the report notes, arrangements for properties managed by the Royal Household vary based on a number of factors to ensure residences are filled appropriately, depending on their location, tenants and purpose."
