Prince Andrew left furious after Queen rejects his calls for daughters Eugenie and Beatrice to be funded by the taxpayer
In a letter to the Queen, Andrew demanded the Princesses be housed in Kensington Palace - claiming they should be on a par with their cousins William and Harry
A DEMAND by the Duke of York for his daughters to be funded by the taxpayer has been rejected by the Queen.
Furious Andrew believes Princess Beatrice, 28, and Eugenie, 26, should be on a par with their cousins William, Kate and Harry.
But a personal request to his mother was thrown out amid simmering tension between the Duke and his brother Charles over the girls’ public roles.
A royal source said: “Andrew has always wanted his daughters to be full-time royals.
“He sees it as a slight on him and them if they are not.
“But Charles calls the shots and he wants the royal family giving value for money.”
Eugenie currently works for a London art gallery while Beatrice has been jobless since July.
In his letter to the Queen, Andrew, 56, also demanded they get new pads at Kensington Palace, instead of their “small” shared flat at St James’s Palace.
A source said: “His private secretary originally drafted a letter and couched it in very reasonable terms.
“But the Duke did not think it made his case strongly enough so tore it up and put pen to paper himself.
“He believes his daughters are being overshadowed by William, Kate and Harry and it will get worse as Prince George and Princess Charlotte get older.
“He fears that they will be totally sidelined when the Queen dies.”
His brother Charles, 67, has made it clear he wants a “pared-back” monarchy with William, Kate and Harry centre-stage at major royal events.
This was first seen in 2012 at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, when only the Queen, Charles, Camilla, William, Harry and Kate appeared on the Palace balcony.
Andrew was also left furious the year before when his daughters were stripped of their 24-hour police protection due to the £500,000 annual cost.
Full-time royals, such as the Queen, Philip and Princess Anne are supported by the Sovereign Grant — money provided annually by the Government.
Charles, William, Kate and Harry are also funded by the Duchy of Cornwall — income set aside for the heir to the throne which would otherwise go to the public purse.
Graham Smith, of pressure group Republic, said last night: “At a time of serious economic uncertainty the last thing we need is a grasping, greedy royal demanding more of our cash.”
A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace refused to comment.