Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor urged Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to spend Christmas at Sandringham with King Charles so they could report back on what he had missed, a royal commentator has claimed.
The former Duke of York did not attend the Royal Family’s annual Christmas at Sandringham, being forced to stay at Royal Lodge alone.
It has been claimed that Andrew pushed for his daughters to be in attendance so he could find out what family members were saying about him.
Beatrice was due to go skiing over Christmas, but is believed to have changed her mind and joined her sister with the rest of the Royal Family.
Andrew urged his daughters to report back what he missed, a royal commentator suggested | GETTY
The sisters followed the King and Queen Camilla, who led the way during the traditional walkaround on Christmas Day, alongside their husbands, Jack Brooksbank and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
Royal author Ingrid Seward made the claim, explaining that she believed Beatrice and Eugenie did not have a choice.
She told the Sun: “Andrew said to them ‘you have to go’. He wants to know what’s going on and what people are saying about him.
“They are Andrew’s only passport into the Royal Family now. I’m absolutely sure he persuaded them.”
The royal commentator claimed Andrew persuaded his daughters to go
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GETTYBeatrice was joined by her husband, Edoardo, during the Christmas walkabout
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Buckingham Palace announced at the end of October that Andrew would be stripped of his prince title and forced out of Royal Lodge over his ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The former duke has always denied wrongdoing, but it is understood that the scandals surrounding the King’s brother were becoming too much of a distraction.
Beatrice and Eugenie kept their princess titles, with the King said to be very keen to “protect” his nieces.
A source told the Daily Mail: “He wouldn’t have wanted to sign off on anything that would impact them.”
The King is understood to want to ‘protect’ his nieces
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It was recently uncovered that Royal Lodge was not inspected at any time while Andrew lived there rent-free.
The former royal’s lease for his Grade II 30-room mansion revealed last year that the duke had been paying “peppercorn rent” since 2003.
The lease included unique terms, such as not paying rent but instead a costly upfront refurbishment fee and an upkeep schedule.
He paid £8million to repair the property when he moved in, and agreed to allow inspectors in at “all reasonable times” to make sure the royal residence was looked after.
Buckingham Palace announced in October that the King had kicked Andrew out of the royal family
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In return for meeting these agreements, his Crown Estate landlord, the independent company which manages Crown properties for the benefit of the taxpayer, allowed him to pay no rent for the duration of his 75-year lease.
However, a freedom of information request from The Mail has not revealed that any visit occurred during his 22-year tenancy.
His lease states that he must paint the interior of the property every seven years and maintain the grounds and gardens in good condition.
The lease specified that Crown Estate officials had the right to enter the property to confirm the rules had been followed if they gave “reasonable notice”.
The lack of inspections was uncovered just a month after the chief executive of the Crown Estate wrote a briefing to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee stating inspections were carried out on a “need-only” basis.