Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice told to consider royal homes ahead of Parliament review
Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh pay peppercorn rent at Bagshot Park
|GB NEWS

A former minister has given his advice to the York sisters ahead of the review
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Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice have been included in the scrutiny of Crown Estate rental arrangements.
Parliament's Public Accounts Committee is preparing to examine rental agreements on some of the Crown Estate's most prestigious properties occupied by members of the Royal Family later this year.
The review will scrutinise contracts on apartments and houses at St James's Palace, Kensington Palace and within Windsor Great Park, with particular focus on arrangements benefiting non-working royals.
Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, along with Princess Michael of Kent, are among those whose rental terms will likely come under the spotlight.

Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice have been told to consider their royal homes ahead of the Parliament review
|PA
Norman Baker, the former Liberal Democrat Home Affairs minister, told the Daily Mail: "It is good that parliament, which generally does its best never to look into royal matters, has been forced by public opinion to examine the outrageous rental agreements which both ex-Prince Andrew and his brother Prince Edward have enjoyed near-zero rents for gigantic mansions in the most charming surroundings of Windsor Great Park."
Prince Edward secured a 150-year lease on the 120-room Bagshot Park estate in 2007 after paying a £5million premium to the Crown Estate, according to documents released this year.
The Duke of Edinburgh made the upfront payment through his company, Eclipse Nominees Ltd.
The arrangement sparked controversy in March when it emerged the couple had been subletting the estate's East Wing stables as office space for £10,834 monthly, generating £130,008 annually.

Edward has come under criticism for his 'peppercorn' rent deal at Bagshot Park
| GETTYThe Crown Estate declined to comment when approached by GB News at the time, noting this was a matter for the Royal Household.
A royal source told the People's Channel: "The property in question is not rented to any tenant and it is not on the market." GB News also understands it is a token payment to ensure the lease is a legally binding contract.
Princess Beatrice, 37, maintains a rented apartment at St James's Palace despite owning a £3.5million six-bedroom farmhouse in the Cotswolds where she lives with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and daughters Sienna, four, and Athena, one.
The exact rent she pays for the historic London address remains unclear, though it is thought her father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, negotiated property deals for both daughters to pay rent to the King.

Princess Beatrice has an apartment at St James's Palace
|PA
Her younger sister Eugenie, 36, who is expecting her third child, has not lived permanently in England since 2022, when her husband Jack Brooksbank took a position at an exclusive Portuguese golf resort. The couple retain Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace as a grace-and-favour property for their London visits with sons August, five, and Ernest, two.
The three-bedroom cottage reportedly stands empty for much of the year while the family resides near Lisbon.
Mr Baker suggested: "I think Beatrice and Eugenie would be wise to leave their properties in St James’s Palace and Kensington Palace before people start asking too many questions. Non-working royals should never benefit from grace-and-favour or peppercorn rent arrangements."
Prince Michael of Kent, 83, and his wife Princess Michael, 81, have occupied Apartment 10 at Kensington Palace for approximately four decades, having received the keys from the late Queen Elizabeth following their 1978 wedding.

Princess Eugenie pictured departing Kensington Palace in 2018
|PA
Mr Baker continued to tell the Mail: "There was uproar when it was revealed that Prince and Princess Michael of Kent were paying just £69 a week for their enormous home in Apartment 3 in Kensington Palace. They were forced by the scandal to pay the market rent of £120,000 a year, up from £3,588. The new rent was not backdated."
The couple, who previously divided their time between London and Nether Lypiatt Manor in Gloucestershire, downsized permanently to Kensington Palace in 2006. Prince Michael, who is 52nd in line to the throne, is a non-working royal. It is believed he has paid rent on the apartment since 2008.
However, he noted that Prince William announced he will pay market rent for Forest Lodge, the family's new Windsor Great Park residence.
Mr Baker stated: "William has seen the warning signs and announced he will pay a market rent for their sumptuous new home, Forest Lodge, built in the 1770s."
GB News has contacted Buckingham Palace and Beatrice and Eugenie's representatives for comment.










