Prince William threatened to remove the titles of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie unless they pressured their father Prince Andrew to move out of Royal Lodge, it has been claimed.
BBC broadcaster Emily Maitlis, who carried out the infamous 2019 Newsnight interview with Andrew, claimed the Prince of Wales may have met with the princesses last week.
Their parents, Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, are understood to have finally agreed to move out of Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion they have shared since 2008, amid criticism of their ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The divorced couple have already given up their Duke and Duchess of York titles.
Speaking on The News Agents podcast, Maitlis said: “There was a question over whether there had been, earlier in the day, a meeting between Prince William and the princesses, Beatrice and Eugenie, saying you guys have to get your dad to move out of Royal Lodge otherwise we will start re-examining the state of your own titles.
“They are at the moment allowed to be princesses, but there was a bit of pressure, we understand, being put on the princesses to say this is going to happen. Obviously you can see why Andrew as a father would want to keep their daughters happy and keep their titles in place come what may.
“What we learned what was going to happen on Thursday was that [King} Charles, fresh from the Vatican and his audience with the Pope, was going to come via Royal Lodge to be seen in other words reading the riot act to his brother.”
The King is reported to have cancelled the meeting. There has been no confirmation of a meeting between William and Beatrice and Eugenie.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
It comes after Andrew reportedly welcomed Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein to Royal Lodge.
The disgraced royal, 65, allegedly hosted the trio at the Grade II-listed mansion in Windsor, Berkshire for Beatrice’s 18th birthday two decades ago.
The invite was extended two months after an arrest warrant had been issued in the United States for Epstein for sexually assaulting a minor.
The revelations comesas Andew faces intense pressure to vacate the 30-room country home amid the continuing furore over his past relationship with Epstein and outcry over his “peppercorn rent” on the property.
According to the BBC, Epstein was arrested by police in Florida eight days following the celebratory event in Windsor Castle on July 15, 2006.
It is understood that Epstein — who died in custody while awaiting trial for trafficking and conspiracy charges in 2019 aged 66 — visited Royal Lodge before the masked ball, alongside Maxwell, 66, and Weinstein, 73.
The following year, Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
In 2019, Andrew told Newsnight he “wasn’t aware” that Epstein was a wanted man two months before the party.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year jail sentence in Texas for recruiting teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein, her then boyfriend.
Meanwhile, Weinstein is imprisoned in New York after being convicted of sexual assault in New York and Los Angeles, but has secured a retrial on some of his convictions.
Earlier this month, Andrew announced he would relinquish his remaining royal honours, including his Duke of York title.
But Buckingham Palace is said to be “cranking up the pressure” to try to get Andrew to vacate Royal Lodge, for which he has a private tenancy with the Crown Estate.
Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, 66, have reportedly agreed to leave Royal Lodge but are demanding Frogmore and Adelaide cottages in return.
In 2003, Andrew took on the lease for Royal Lodge from the Queen Mother and spent £7.5million on renovations, although indignation has mounted in recent weeks over his minimal rental payments.
