Kensington Palace Responds to Claim That Prince William Put "Pressure" on Cousins Beatrice and Eugenie and Threatened to Remove Their Titles

The Prince of Wales was said to have involved his cousins in the Royal Lodge fallout.

Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice walking down a staircase in dresses holding umbrellas
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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Kensington Palace is responding to some claims about Prince William after BBC journalist Emily Maitlis—who conducted Prince Andrew's infamous 2019 Newsnight interview—suggested that the Prince of Wales met with his cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie amid the recent scandals surrounding their parents, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew.

The prince and his ex-wife are said to be in talks with the palace over their next move, with the couple reportedly agreeing to leave their longtime home, Royal Lodge, in the coming weeks.

Last week, reporters waited outside Royal Lodge for hours after being told to expect an update on Andrew's situation from the palace—but nothing ever happened. According to Maitlis on her "News Agents" podcast, "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.'"

Prince William playing with the tassel on Princess Eugenie's pink hat at Royal Ascot

Prince William is seen with Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice at Royal Ascot 2024.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess beatrice and Princess Eugenie walking in front of Kate Middleton and Prince William on Easter 2017

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are seen with Prince William and Princess Kate on Easter Sunday in 2017.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

She continued, "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."

According to the Mirror, Kensington Palace denied that the alleged meeting between Prince William and his cousins took place, adding that to say the Prince of Wales could remove someone's title would be "factually inaccurate."

Maitlis also claimed that King Charles was supposed to be "reading the riot act to his brother" last Thursday, with the hopes that media would capture his car arriving at Royal Lodge.

"What happened, I understand, was that the palace then got very nervous, and when they saw the choppers and helicopters, they thought this has all got too big, this has got out of control, they cancelled the whole thing," she continued. "The King just went straight home and never came by."

Kristin Contino
Kristin Contino
Senior Royal and Celebrity Editor

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.