The outcry over benefits given to non-working royals was reignited after the publication on Friday of a new report on residences from the National Audit Office.
While it was initially thought that non-working royals paid market rent for their homes of grace and favor, the report shed light on how they subsidized living conditions.
Additionally, it was the revelation about Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s home that caused quite a stir, suggesting a “scandalous” deal had been struck between Andrew and the king.
King Charles officially ousted his disgraced brother from the royal gold last October. In the months leading up to this historic decision, Andrew was not budging from his position, nor was he prepared to give up the huge Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge.
We thought Andrew was willing to drop everything on a key request, but we didn’t know what that might have been. Author and royal historian Andrew Lownie believes this was Beatrice and Eugenie’s future in the royal family.
“Andrew didn’t need to leave Royal Lodge,” Lownie explained. “He had been hanging on for several months before.” Then the “game changer” happened during his private meeting with the king.
“Maybe a deal was made, ‘take care of my daughters and I’ll fall on my sword’.”
“It’s extraordinary. The king will say: ‘well, I can accommodate my family as I want,'” he continued. “But I think he just needs to be aware of the optics of where that money is going to be used, because there’s a big debate about whether that money belongs in the Treasury or the family itself.”
