A lip reader has revealed what Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie discussed as they attended their cousin Peter Phillips’s wedding.
The sisters arrived at All Saints Church in Kemble, Gloucestershire, alongside their husbands Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank yesterday.
It came hours after the release of an ‘outrageous’ National Audit report which revealed the pair have never paid a penny in rent.
They have lived free of charge in exclusive palace properties for nearly two decades, despite performing no royal duties, having their own careers and high-flying partners.
Beatrice and Eugenie are said to have been ‘tense’ as they arrived at the celebrations yesterday, with Forensic Lip Reading Expert Nicola Hickling revealing what they said as they walked outside the church.
According to Ms Hickling, Beatrice asked her husband to hold her hand while Eugenie observed their aunt, Princess Anne, had not arrived yet.
Beatrice allegedly said to her husband: ‘You look like you’re struggling with the umbrella.’
Edoardo replied: ‘Do I?’ while running his fingers through his hair. Beatrice then asked: ‘Can you hold my hand?’
Footage shows Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie arriving at the wedding in Kemble with their husbands yesterday
Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling pose for photos outside the church on their wedding day
Meanwhile, Eugenie said: ‘Anne isn’t here yet’, to which her husband Jack responded: ‘She will be here in a moment.’
Ms Hickling, an analyst at LipReader, also observed a conversation between the bride and groom as they left the church and posed for photographs in the rain.
As cameramen stood outside the venue and called for the newlyweds to kiss, Peter allegedly said: ‘Spare me the umbrella, we need it, you’re drenched.’
He added: ‘Let’s quickly do several movements, now this side it’s getting heavy, my arm is aching.’
The bride, Harriet Sperling, said: ‘I think they’d like us to kiss.’ Peter replied: ‘We’re done.’
Princess Catherine and Prince William also attended the ceremony, after which Kate said ‘thank you’ and ‘hi, thank you’, Ms Hickling claimed.
The supposed tension seen by Beatrice and Eugenie at the wedding came hours after it emerged the sisters have been secretly subsidised for years by their grandmother Queen Elizabeth and now by their uncle King Charles.
Former Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker, who has long been a critic of royal finances, said: ‘The Royal Family is yet again taking the public for a complete ride.’
The York sisters lived at St James’s Palace from 2008, before Eugenie, now 36, moved to Ivy Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace in 2018. She now splits her time between London and a £3.6million Portuguese home.
Her neighbours are said to include F1 racing drivers and fashion designer Christian Louboutin.
Beatrice, 37, stayed on at the apartment, which she shares with her husband, property developer Edo Mapelli Mozzi, and their family, while also owning a multi-million pound home in the Cotswolds.
Both rents, the report reveals, are paid to the Royal Household entirely by Charles out of the Privy Purse, which is made up of his Duchy of Lancaster income and other private funds. No taxpayer money was involved.
Jack Brooksbank, Princess Eugenie, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice arrive for the royal wedding
However, the homes are situated in occupied royal palaces which are maintained by public funding via the Sovereign Grant – which was effectively reimbursed by the monarch on their behalf.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘We are grateful to the National Audit Office for this report, which is in line with The Royal Household’s commitment to transparency.
‘We hope that the findings will help correct, clarify or contextualise a number of points regarding royal properties.
‘As the report notes, arrangements for properties managed by the Royal Household vary based on a number of factors to ensure residences are filled appropriately, depending on their location, tenants and purpose.’
A spokesman for the Crown Estate said: ‘The Crown Estate welcomes the National Audit Office’s review which confirms its leases with members of the Royal Family were agreed in line with independent, professional advice and open market valuations.’
