The £650 million Privy Purse Scandal

The latest National Audit Office (NAO) report has revealed that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have been living in palace homes without personally having to pay even a single penny. The bill was settled by their grandmother,the late Queen Elizabeth II, using money from the Privy Purse, which comes largely from the Duchy of Lancaster.

This is the £650 million property estate handed to our monarchs free of inheritance tax. That's an arrangement that has continued under the princesses' uncle ,King Charles, since the Queen's death.

And it's a disgrrace. Our sovereign has been allowed to keep benefiting from the income provided by the Duchy of Lancaster (about £25 million per year) so that he can fund official duties not covered by taxpayers ; maintain private royal estates, such as Balmoral and Sandringham; and support members of the extended Royal Family who undertake public engagements.

What Have Beatrice and Eugenie Done to Justify Their Palace Perks?

Beatrice, 37, is a well-educated businesswoman who lives an enviable lifestyle. Just last night, in my role as the Daily Mail's Diary Editor, I saw her partying in Mayfair with pals including hotels heiress Nicky Hilton Rothschild and Princess Diana's niece Lady Eliza Spencer.

The princess runs an advisory company, BY-EQ, whose initials stand for Beatrice York and, apparently, Emotional Quotient (intelligence). She described BY-EQ as 'an advisory organisation focused on adding more exceptional emotional intelligence in an age of artificial intelligence.'

It reported earnings of just under £500,000 last year - an astonishing increase on its first year of trading, when it made a modest £39,000 profit.

Eugenie's £214,615 Rent Deal: A Royal Rip-Off?

Eugenie, 36, is also a member of the international jet set. she is an expensively educated university graduate like her sister, and is a director at the art gallery Hauser & Wirth.

She has two sons, August, five, and Ernest, who turned three last weekend, with Jack Brooksbank, an amiable former barman who, like Edo,has seen his career flourish since he married into the Royal Family.

First, he was given a job in marketing for Casamigos, the tequila brand founded by Hollywood star George Clooney (a friend of the royals), and Rande Gerber, husband of supermodel Cindy Crawford.

Who is the Unnamed Buyer of the Princesses' Palace Homes?

The report states that Eugenie's rent for Ivy Cottage was set until this year using open-market valuations dating back to 2018.. This was only updated this year.

Between 2020 and 2021, the princess's rent was set at just 50 per cent of the 2018 market value. This rose to 55 per cent in 2022, 60 per cent in 2023 and eventually to 64 per cent this year.