A review of royal housing arrangements initiated by King Charles is set to eliminate the rent-free living privileges that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have enjoyed for nearly two decades, according to a report from June 10, 2026.
The two daughters of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, occupy residences at St. James’s Palace and Kensington Palace estate respectively, and neither holds working royal status. A report from the National Audit Office, the independent public spending watchdog in the United Kingdom, found that both sisters have lived in those properties without paying rent for almost 20 years.
Royal officials reached out to Beatrice and Eugenie initially in 2025, then followed up around March 2026, requesting that they begin exploring other options for when they need a base in London. The communication came through aides rather than directly from the monarch and was characterized as part of a wider reevaluation of royal property allocation.
A Shift in How Palaces Are Used
The monarch has directed aides to examine how family members utilize royal residences, with consequences extending beyond the two apartments. After Beatrice and Eugenie depart, Beatrice’s apartment at St. James’s Palace is anticipated to be repurposed as office space, while Eugenie’s cottage at Kensington Palace will likely house a senior staff member.
“Senior royal officials have made it increasingly clear that the accommodation arrangements currently enjoyed by Beatrice and Eugenie are not viewed as a permanent entitlement,” a palace insider told a royal reporter. Officials have emphasized the decision stems from operational necessity rather than punishment, describing it as practical housekeeping aligned with the king’s institutional vision.
Yet palace insiders acknowledge the symbolic weight is substantial. Prince William’s fingerprints are unmistakable on the shift, with reports indicating the heir to the throne wants such privileges reserved strictly for working royals.
William’s Hardening View
“Andrew was the warning shot,” one source said. “If a prince can be pushed out of a royal residence, nobody believes the York sisters will be exempt from the changes William wants to make.”
That warning shot landed hard. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of the “Prince” style, “His Royal Highness” (HRH) and the Duke of York title in late 2025, then evicted from Royal Lodge, the $37 million mansion where he had lived rent-free for years. He was later arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an investigation that has since expanded to include sex crimes. He has been at the center of public scrutiny since the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, and he is no longer permitted at public royal events.
According to sources close to the family, William’s reasoning is straightforward: royal properties exist to support the institution, and those not working for the institution have little claim to live in them for free. Beatrice and Eugenie, by all accounts, understand the math. The expectation inside the household is that when William becomes king, the sisters will be required to pay their own way.
The Sisters Plead for Their Father
Even as their own housing future tightens, Beatrice and Eugenie have been quietly lobbying their uncle on another front — their father. The sisters have pleaded with Charles to allow Andrew to remain at Royal Lodge, though the appeal is rooted less in concern for him than for their mother, Sarah Ferguson.
Ferguson and Andrew divorced in 1996 but have lived together at Royal Lodge ever since. She is battling both breast cancer and skin cancer, and the princesses do not want her displaced during treatment. Royal biographer Ingrid Seward had predicted Andrew would use his daughters as his “secret weapon,” and that prediction now appears to be playing out.
“The two princesses have spoken to their uncle, asking him to forgive Andrew and for the two brothers to mend fences,” a royal source said. “But it remains to be seen if their requests have been heard.”
Their father’s situation, meanwhile, has only grown more precarious. Royal expert Ian Pelham Turner has said Royal Lodge is in total disrepair, citing dampness, worsening cracks in the brickwork, peeling paint and plaster falling from the walls and ceiling. Andrew, by multiple accounts, does not have the funds to maintain the 19th-century property.
The cumulative picture, as detailed by multiple royal correspondents, is of a monarchy quietly contracting — pruning the perks, the properties and the personalities that no longer fit a slimmed-down vision of the institution. For Beatrice and Eugenie, the question is no longer whether the rent-free era ends, but when.