Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have retained the use of two properties within royal palaces under a deal their father Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor made with King Charles.
The York sisters use the palaces as their second homes and have primary residences elsewhere.
Princess Beatrice, who is Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s eldest daughter, has an apartment within St James’ Palace, in London.
Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice both have homes in royal palaces. (Getty)
Princess Eugenie has Ivy Cottage, on the grounds of Kensington Palace nearby.
They pay an undisclosed amount of rent under a private arrangement between the Yorks and the King, according to The Times.
A source told the publication: “The [rental] deal was made with their father as he wanted them to have a foothold in the royal palaces”.
Princess Eugenie, 37, and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and their children Sienna and Athena, live in the Cotswolds in a six-bedroom property with a newly-renovated granny flat. The couple is rumoured to have purchased the home for £3.5million (approx. $5m).
READ MORE: Real reason Queen Mary didn’t wear a tiara in Australia
READ MORE: Catherine celebrates St Patrick’s Day with Irish Guards
READ MORE: ‘My chance meeting with Queen Mary that nearly didn’t happen’
The princesses, pictured with their husbands, are not working members of the royal family. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Princess Eugenie, 35, splits her time between London and Portugal, with her husband Jack Brooksbank and their two sons, August and Ernest.
Andrew previously covered the £1,600 (approx. $3k) rent per month on the four-bedroom apartment in St James’s Palace for both his daughters, a sum which was considered far below market value.
It is not clear if Beatrice and Eugenie are now responsible for the costs.
Similar apartments within St James’ Palace would typically be rented for £20,000 (approx. $40k) per month on the open market.
A two-bedroom apartment close to the palace was recently on the market for £19,000 (approx. $40k) a month.
The York family, pictured at Royal Lodge in 2020. (Instagram/SarahFerguson15)
According to The Times, the market rent for a similar property in Kensington would range from between £4,000 (approx. $8k) and £15,000 (approx. $30k) per month depending on the condition and size of the rooms.
The royal family does not share details of private rental agreements within royal palaces.
However the rent does goes back into the sovereign grant, which funds the official work of the royal family.
In early February, Andrew moved out of Royal Lodge in Windsor after giving up his lease on the 31-bedroom property in October following revelations he had paid a minimum sum – known as peppercorn rent – for 20 years.
Overnight, moving vans were seen at his temporary home, Wood Farm, on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Andrew has been living there while his permanent home, Marsh Farm which is also at Sandringham, is being renovated ahead of his arrival.
Andrew was arrested at Wood Farm on February 19, his 66th birthday.
In March, Andrew relinquished his lease on another property – East Lodge – that he had rented on behalf of his staff near his former home of Sunninghill Park.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s living arrangements have come under scrutiny. (Dave Benett/Getty Images)
When King Charles ascended the throne in September, 2022, Andrew lost his office at Buckingham Palace.
Both Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are not working members of the royal family.
Beatrice has worked as a private equity analyst for more than a decade, and in 2022 she created BY-EQ, a “mission led advisory firm working with technology and market leading companies to maximise the positive impact they can have”.
Eugenie has worked for the Mayfair gallery Hauser & Wirth for the past 10 years.
They have been reportedly banned from attending Royal Ascot this year due to the ongoing scandal surrounding their parents’ past association with Jeffrey Epstein.
Beatrice and Eugenie were told they could not join the royal family at the annual race event in June or appear in the Royal Box or the carriage procession.
Princess Beatrice celebrates NYE with Eduardo in rare PDA
And they are not expected to attend any high profile events with the royal family for the foreseeable future.
Princess Eugenie recently stepped down as patron of the charity Anti-Slavery International, a role she held for seven years.
The development came after the UK’s Charity Commission said that it was “assessing concerns” about the Anti-Slavery Collective, a separate charity the princess co-founded in 2017.
Marsh Farm, the Sandringham property that is set to become Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s permanent home. (Getty)
The British royal family’s living arrangements, including where they reside and how much rent they pay, was thrust into the spotlight after Andrew surrendered his lease on Royal Lodge
Later this year, an inquiry will be held investigating the terms under which members of the royal family occupy properties owned by the Crown Estate and the rental deals made by the Crown Estate with the royals.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.