King Charles is footing the bill for Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s accommodation in royal palaces, despite both being “non-working royals” who carry out no official duties, a National Audit Office report has disclosed.
The report, which also revealed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received undisclosed private income from subletting three cottages on his Royal Lodge estate while paying a peppercorn rent to the crown estate, shines a spotlight on the property arrangements of other members of the royal family.
“King Charles pays rent for non-working daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, NAO report reveals”
Beatrice lives rent-free in an apartment at St James’s Palace, with her rent set at 68% of open market value. Eugenie occupies Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace, where her rent is set at 64% of market value. King Charles pays both rents out of his private Duchy of Lancaster income, continuing an arrangement made by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, which is kept under regular review. The rents are adjusted because the properties are behind security cordons requiring security vetting for tenants.
Both princesses have private properties: Beatrice owns a converted Cotswold farmhouse near Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire; Eugenie has a seaside home in Comporta, Portugal. They also have husbands with high-paying jobs – Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi is a property developer executive, and Jack Brooksbank is a marketing executive. Up until this year, Eugenie’s rent was based on a 2018 valuation and Beatrice’s on a 2020 valuation.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Edward and Sophie, also benefited from subletting their crown estate property. They pay a “peppercorn rent” after signing a 150-year lease in 2007 for Bagshot Park in Surrey, with an upfront payment of £5m to the crown estate. They also have a rent-free apartment at St James’s Palace in return for performing royal duties.
Former Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker branded the arrangements “outrageous”. He 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.”
The report also notes that Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, dubbed the “Rent-a-Kents”, have enjoyed long-term subsidised rent in Kensington Palace – paying just £69 per week from 1978 until it was made public, after which Queen Elizabeth II covered the £120,000 cost until 2010, an arrangement continued by King Charles. Princess Alexandra, 89, rents a mansion in Richmond Park with a lease set to end in 2144.
Andrew could be entitled to up to £300,000 in “compensation” from the Crown Estate after being forced out of Royal Lodge over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. It is not known whether his sublet properties were consistently rented out, but the subletting ended in April 2026.