King footing bill for Beatrice and Eugenie, and Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh subletting among findings
A report reveals that King Charles resides on his Royal Lodge estate in Windsor while paying a nominal rent to the Crown Estate, and it also highlights the property arrangements of other royal family members.
The findings include that King Charles covers the accommodation costs for Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie in royal palaces, despite both being "non-working royals" (meaning they do not perform official royal duties). Additionally, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have benefited from subletting their Crown Estate property.
1. Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
The daughters of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who do not undertake royal duties, live rent-free in occupied royal palaces. Rent on Beatrice’s St James’s Palace apartment is currently set at 68% of open market value, while rent on Eugenie’s Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace is set at 64%.
King Charles pays both rents from his private Duchy of Lancaster income, continuing an arrangement established by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, which is regularly reviewed. Rent adjustments reflect the fact that these properties are behind security cordons requiring tenant security vetting.
Both princesses own private properties: Beatrice has a converted Cotswold farmhouse near Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, and Eugenie owns a seaside property in Comporta, Portugal.
Maintenance and operational costs of occupied royal palaces are funded by public money through the sovereign grant, which covers the royal family’s official duties and palace upkeep. Sources indicate that the rent paid by Charles for these two properties reimburses any publicly funded expenses, resulting in no additional cost to the sovereign grant. Eugenie reportedly undertook refurbishments of her Kensington Palace residence at her own expense.
2. Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh
Edward and Sophie pay a "peppercorn rent" after signing a 150-year lease in 2007 for Bagshot Park in Surrey, including an upfront payment of £5 million to the Crown Estate. They previously held a lease from 1998 to 2007, committing to restoration expenditures of £1.38 million. They also have a rent-free apartment at St James’s Palace, London, managed by the royal household, in exchange for performing royal duties.
Under their Crown Estate lease, they are permitted to sublet parts of the Bagshot Park estate and generated private income by commercially letting the stable complex until 2020.
It is understood they invested significant capital to convert the stable block for letting. Of two additional units within the stables footprint, one is occupied by a staff member and family at a rate consistent with household policy for staff, while the other serves as a storage facility previously used by the Royal Collection Trust but is currently unused.
3. Prince and Princess of Wales
William and Catherine pay an annual rent of £307,200 on Forest Lodge, a Crown Estate property in Windsor, under a 20-year lease taken out last year without an upfront deposit, as they are responsible for all internal refurbishment costs.
The Crown Estate funded repairs to the mansion, two of three cottages on the site, the barn, and the grounds totaling £396,993 immediately before their move-in, fulfilling its landlord obligations. The couple also lease Staff Lodge 1 on the Windsor estate, paying £19,800 annually, which is occupied by a staff member.
Additionally, they have a large rent-free apartment at Kensington Palace managed by the household, as well as Anmer Hall, a private mansion reportedly with 10 bedrooms, located on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
4. Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
The late Queen’s cousin and his wife Marie-Christine, both in their 80s, live in a Kensington Palace apartment with rent paid by King Charles. In 2002, a public outcry occurred when it was revealed they paid a peppercorn rent of just £69 per week for Apartment 10, maintained by taxpayers, despite not performing royal duties. Members of Parliament on the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee demanded full rent payment, but the couple stated that Queen Elizabeth II had given them the palace use as a wedding gift.
The then queen offered to pay a commercial rate rent of £120,000 a year on their behalf, until they had to find the sum themselves after the end of 2009.
It appears that towards the end of this seven-year arrangement, the queen agreed to continue private funding, and King Charles has maintained this arrangement. The exact current rent is unknown, but it has increased by 34% between 2020 and 2026 and stands at 63% of a 2026 open market valuation, according to the National Audit Office.
5. Princess Alexandra and her daughter Marina Ogilvy
Princess Alexandra, the late Queen’s cousin aged 89, resides in Thatched House Lodge in Richmond Park, leased to the THL Trust. She pays an annual ground rent of £1,500, which varies over time, following a premium payment of £670,000 in 1995 after a previous lease in 1971. Her daughter Marina Ogilvy holds an assured shorthold tenancy on a cottage on the Windsor estate, paying an annual rent of £17,436.
