The uproar surrounding the perks of the non-working members of the royal family was reignited after a new report of the residences by the National Audit Office was published on Friday.
While it was initially believed that the non-working royals were paying market rent on their grace-and-favour homes, the report shed light on how they subsidised living arrangements.
Moreover, it was the revelation about Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s home that caused quite a stir, suggesting that an “outrageous” deal was struck between Andrew and the King.
King Charles officially ousted his disgraced brother from the royal gold last October. In months leading up to the landmark decision, Andrew was not budging from his position and neither was he ready to give up the massive Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge.
It was believed that Andrew was ready to give up everything on a key demand, but there was no telling what it could have been, Royal author and historian Andrew Lownie believes it was Beatrice and Eugenie’s secured future in the royal family.
“Andrew didn’t need to leave Royal Lodge,” Lownie explained. “He’d dug his heels in for several months before.” Then the “some game changer” happened during his private meeting with the King.
“Perhaps some deal was done, ‘take care of my daughters, and I’ll fall on my sword’.”
“It is extraordinary. The King will say, ‘well, I can house my family as I wish’,” he continued. “But I think he just has to be aware of the optics of using this money, which there’s a big debate about whether this money belongs to the exchequer or to the family itself.”
2026-06-07 12:50:00
