Princess Beatrice and Eugenie 'face big decision over royal life' after rent row, claims expert

Princess Beatrice and Eugenie 'face big decision over royal life' after rent row, claims expert EXCLUSIVE: It emerged that Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie do not personally pay rent for their accommodation within royal palaces - and one royal expert says this has left them with a big decision Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are left facing a big decision amid their royal rent row, according to an expert. The York sisters, the daughters of disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, have come under scrutiny after it emerged that neither of them personally pays rent for their homes in royal palaces - despite not being working royals. It had been understood that they paid market rent for their London homes, with Beatrice having an apartment in St James’ Palace and Eugenie having a cottage within the Kensington Palace grounds. But a new investigation by the National Audit Office has shown that the sisters do not pay anything, with the cost being picked up by the Privy Purse - the King’s private income from the Duchy of Lancaster. It sparked outrage from many, with Norman Baker, an expert in royal finances, branding the arrangements put in place by the late Queen as a ‘sweetheart deal’. And now royal expert Jennie Bond believes the revelations in the report, released last week, will now force the princesses hands. The former BBC royal correspondent told the Mirror : “I suspect that neither of the princesses will be living in Royal palaces in the future – or, if they are, I think it will be made clear that they are paying their own market value rent.” It comes amid reports that Prince William is ready to make changes to royal property arrangements when he becomes King. The Audit Office report, released last week, also revealed that the princess’s father, the former Duke of York, was allowed to sublet three cottages on his former Royal Lodge estate - and keep the money himself, despite only paying a peppercorn rent for the estate. Sources close to him told the Prince of Wales told the Times he wants to "look under the hood" of royal operations to ensure the institution is "fit for purpose in the modern era". He is said to be especially conscious of how the public perceives the family's non-working members, who continue to live in properties under favourable terms. Last weekend, William was reunited with his cousins Beatrice and Eugenie at the wedding of Peter Phillips and his new wife, Harriet, in the Cotswolds. The heir to the throne was seen greeting the two women in warm embraces. And despite William’s apparent hard stance on property, Jennie believes the prince has a “lot of sympathy for his cousins”. She added: “He knows exactly what it’s like to be the child of parents who are constantly in the headlines – in his case, it was the breakup of Charles and Diana‘s marriage that made the news for many years. “He also cares a great deal about mental health, and I’m sure he will appreciate that Beatrice and Eugenie have been under immense pressure for a long time now. And that must have taken its toll on their mental strength.”