{"id":615128,"date":"2026-09-29T08:02:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T08:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/615128\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T08:02:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T08:02:34","slug":"princesses-beatrice-and-eugenies-grace-and-favor-scandal-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/615128\/","title":{"rendered":"Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie\u2019s “Grace and Favor” Scandal, Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated6 min read<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not hard to find the British royals, if you know where to look. In July the Prince and Princess of Wales were at the men\u2019s singles finals at Wimbledon<\/a>. A month earlier Isabelle de la Bruy\u00e8re, the girlfriend of Lord Snowdon, made her debut in the royal carriages at Royal Ascot<\/a>. And in early June Harriet Sperling became the toast of the season after marrying Princess Anne\u2019s son Peter Phillips<\/a>. But two familiar faces have seemingly vanished from the public eye.<\/p>\n

Cooped up on palace grounds, or away from London entirely, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie<\/a> haven\u2019t\u2014aside from the \u00adPhillips-Sperling wedding\u2014been publicly present since last Christmas. In August Eugenie made headlines when she gave birth to her third child<\/a>, a girl named Adelaide, but even before that the absence of the sisters set tongues wagging. Some of this has to do with the downfall of their father, the former Prince Andrew<\/a>, in the wake of revelations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>, but the girls\u2019 problems are bigger than just dear old Dad.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year an investigation by the National Audit Office into residential property arrangements<\/a> of the royal family revealed that Beatrice and Eugenie are living rent-free and have been for almost two decades: Eugenie in Ivy Cottage<\/a>, on the grounds of Kensington Palace, with husband Jack Brooksbank<\/a> and their three children; and Beatrice in an apartment at St. James\u2019s Palace<\/a> with her husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi<\/a>, their two daughters, and a son whom Edo co-parents with American architect Dara Huang<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/p>\n

St. James\u2019s Palace, where Princess Beatrice has a home.<\/p>\n

Maremagnum\/\/Getty Images\"The<\/p>\n

Kensington Palace, where Princess Eugenie lives at Ivy Cottage.<\/p>\n

Andrew Holt\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The investigation was triggered by another investigation, one by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee into royal housing arrangements that was sparked by concerns regarding Andrew\u2019s lease of Royal Lodge<\/a>. The crux of the princesses\u2019 headache, and the reason they have raised government eyebrows, is that royal household accommodations are meant to service \u201cworking royals,<\/a>\u201d those who represent the crown at official events, which the princesses are not. (They are outliers. No other nonworking young royals are currently offered free housing; even Harry and Meghan<\/a> will have to find their own digs upon their return to the UK. Princess Anne<\/a> does have a flat in St. James\u2019s Palace, but the 76-year-old does nearly 500 public engagements a year.)<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitically, it\u2019s risky to attack the monarchy,\u201d says Robert Hardman, author of Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story<\/a>. \u201cBut if politicians can find cracks that are deemed legitimate, they\u2019ll go for it. And this is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The setup is what\u2019s known as \u201cgrace and favor,\u201d a tradition that dates back to the 18th century of free homes being doled out to whomever the monarch saw fit. Throughout the 1990s, the system was paired back; Queen Elizabeth II<\/a> started paying voluntary income and capital gains taxes, and the occupants of some grace and favor homes were required to pay rent\u2014often very far below market. \u201cForget about servants,\u201d says Dickie Arbiter, the queen\u2019s former spokesman. \u201cIt\u2019s a roof over their head. It\u2019s not luxury.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TroopingMark Cuthbert\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The princesses with their cousin, Prince William, in 2013. He has indicated that when he becomes king, the already slimmed-down monarchy could become even more streamlined.<\/p>\n

The report itself might not set heads rolling, but it revealed a contradiction at the heart of the monarchy. King Charles has promised a slimmed-down operation, so it could be tricky to justify the privilege his nieces\u2014who kept their titles even after their father relinquished his\u2014have been afforded. When the investigation was released, it was Beatrice and Eugenie, not Andrew, who became a hot topic for Mayfair\u2019s chattering class. An opinion piece in the Sunday Times recently said<\/a>, \u201cWhen the veil is lifted on the royal finances, a picture emerges of continuing extravagance at tax\u00adpayers\u2019 expense, a kind of socialism for the rich.\u201d<\/p>\n

Royal watchers may snipe about Beatrice and Eugenie, but those in their circles claim the girls aren\u2019t hiding. \u201cThey aren\u2019t living a playboy lifestyle,\u201d one insider says. Another notes, \u201cThey are quite popular, and they know an awful lot of people. They\u2019re fun, spirited, and nice to be around. I\u2019m sure that some people will distance themselves, and other people won\u2019t give a monkey\u2019s.\u201d In February Eugenie was spotted at Art Basel Qatar, but the only photo of the trip seemed to be one on influencer Caroline Daur\u2019s Instagram stories. And Beatrice quietly slipped in late to a recent dinner hosted by Nicky Hilton at Lilibet\u2019s restaurant in Mayfair; she skipped the first two hours of the event, and the cameras. \u201cShe seemed fine,\u201d says a fellow attendee. \u201cBut she was definitely keeping her head down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[Beatrice and Eugenie] are quite popular, and they know an awful lot of people. They\u2019re fun, spirited, and nice to be around. I\u2019m sure that some people will distance themselves, and other people won\u2019t give a monkey\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2007 the queen arranged for Beatrice to be accommodated in an apartment at St. James\u2019s Palace ahead of her university matriculation at Goldsmiths, where she got a degree in history. Eugenie began sharing the flat with Beatrice after completing her own degree at Newcastle University. It appears the girls have never personally paid rent, with costs covered at different times by Queen Elizabeth, Andrew, and King Charles. Andrew and the girls\u2019 mother, the former Duchess of York<\/a>, are also said to have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayer money on renovations. \u201cThe late queen couldn\u2019t say no to her grandchildren,\u201d Arbiter says.<\/p>\n

Their father pushed for more: He wanted them to carry out engagements on behalf of the monarch. Today the group doing that includes the king and queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh<\/a>, and Princess Anne. Under Elizabeth II it was a more expansive offering, but she still didn\u2019t give the princesses the honor.<\/p>\n

Instead they embarked on successful careers. After graduating, Beatrice moved into private equity before taking jobs at Sony Pictures, Sandbridge Capital in New York, and Afiniti, an AI software firm. In 2022 she founded BY-EQ, an AI advisory business, and last year she co-founded Purpose Economy Intelligence, a consultancy venture. Eugenie, meanwhile, has had a career in the art world and is currently a director at Hauser & Wirth.<\/p>\n

\"TheJustin Goff Photos\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Beatrice and Eugenie with their parents, the former Duke and Duchess of York, at a 1996 golf tournament.<\/p>\n

Still, their grandmother made sure they were looked after. Eugenie moved into Ivy Cottage ahead of her 2018 marriage, and Edo joined Beatrice at St. James\u2019s Palace after their wedding in 2020<\/a>. Now both couples have second homes: Edo and Beatrice bought a 3.5 million\u2013pound Cotswolds<\/a> spread in 2021, and Jack and Eugenie spend much of their time at their 3.6 million\u2013pound pile in Portugal.<\/p>\n

Any distance between the girls and British society might have more to do with the problems of their parents than their own woes. After Andrew\u2019s disastrous 2019 interview<\/a> on the BBC\u2019s Newsnight, he was forced to step back from royal duties. In 2022 he settled a lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre<\/a>, who accused Andrew of sexually abusing her as a teenager, for an estimated 12 million pounds; some of the funds allegedly came from his mother\u2019s private estate. Last summer Andrew Lownie\u2019s book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York<\/a> took a further knife to their reputation, alleging that both Andrew and his ex-wife had, for decades, used their positions for personal financial benefit. In November 2025 the king stripped his brother<\/a> of his titles. The Epstein files were the final straw: Fergie went into hiding, and Andrew moved from Royal Lodge into a residence on the King\u2019s Sandringham Estate\u2014effectively banished. Less than a month later he was arrested <\/a>(but not charged) on suspicion of misconduct in public office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can never, ever escape from the Andrew of it all,\u201d says Sam McAlister, who negotiated the infamous Newsnight interview on behalf of the BBC. \u201cThe reputational damage is so profound that they will, I\u2019m afraid, never ever be able to get out of its shadow.\u201d Arbiter adds that they should \u201cpack up their belongings and move out. They don\u2019t need it, and anybody with a certain amount of common sense would see the optics created by their parents and say, \u2018We\u2019re off.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n

Estate Planning
Not all grace and favor residences are created equal. Where would you live?
Birkhall
\u201cThe second-tier house on the Balmoral estate,\u201d according to royal expert Robert Hardman. \u201dThe late queen mother adored it, and the king still has it.\u201d
Royal Lodge
The 30-room pile in Windsor Great Park is practically perfect\u2014except, Hardman says, for the specter of its last tenants: Andrew and Fergie.
Anmer Hall
Perched on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, this is the one the Prince and Princess of Wales nabbed for their private country home.<\/p>\n

Beatrice and Eugenie are now symbols of privilege gone wrong. Public tolerance is collapsing, even if their social circles remain loyal. The investigation does not necessarily mean they will be evicted, but it has highlighted a contradiction that is impossible to justify, and neither wants another York scandal. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine that the girls will be in those houses in the long term,\u201d Hardman says. \u201cThey\u2019re certainly not forever homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the king\u2019s \u201cslimmed down\u201d monarchy is a shock, just wait until King William V, who will go further in trimming the fat. To retain relevance and keep the public on side, Beatrice and Eugenie will likely have no choice but to move on, eventually. The question is, will they jump or be pushed?<\/p>\n

This story appears in the October 2026 issue of Town & Country.<\/p>\n

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