Did Prince William give Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie an ultimatum over titles?

A new report places Prince William at the center of alleged pressure on Prince Andrew over his move from Royal Lodge, the mansion he has shared with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, since 2008, amid renewed scrutiny over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

On October 27, journalist Emily Maitlis discussed these speculations on her podcast. Press agents that William could have urged his cousins, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, to encourage their father to leave Royal Lodge, allegedly warning them that their own titles could be revised. She said British channels had been informed that something might happen at the Royal Lodge on Thursday evening, prompting journalists – including a BBC helicopter – to visit the scene.

“There was a question about whether there had been, earlier today, a meeting between Prince William and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, saying, ‘You need to convince your father to leave Royal Lodge, otherwise we will start to review the status of your own titles,'” she said.

“At the moment, they’re allowed to be princesses, but there was a little bit of pressure, we understand, on the princesses to say, ‘You know, this is going to happen.’ Obviously, you can understand why Andrew, as a father, would want to keep his daughters happy and keep their titles no matter what,” she continued.

PEOPLE understands that no such meeting took place between William and his cousins.

Although Prince William, 43, wields significant influence as heir to the throne, he does not have the power to strip his cousins ​​of their royal titles. Removing Beatrice and Eugenie’s titles would require an Act of Parliament.

Maitlis also added that some of the reports suggested that King Charles should be seen arriving at Royal Lodge, a move that would underline the monarch’s takeover of the situation. According to Maitlis, while helicopters and cameras were already on site, the palace decided the moment had become too important and the plan was canceled.

“So what we learned on Thursday is that [Charles]freshly returned from the Vatican and his audience with the Pope, was going to come via the Royal Box, to be seen, in other words, to be, as it were, reading the riot act to his brother. No one was going to film the conversation, obviously no one was going to see him get out of the car, but there would be the moment, filmed, of King Charles’ car approaching or heading towards Royal Lodge,” she said.

“What happened, I understand, was that the palace then got very nervous, and when they saw the helicopters and the helicopters, they thought, ‘It’s all gotten too big, it’s gotten out of control’. They canceled everything. The king went straight home and never came there,” Maitlis claimed.

Maitlis was the journalist who interviewed Prince Andrew, 65, for the BBC Newsnight interview in November 2019 about his involvement in the abuse allegations from Epstein and Virginia Roberts Giuffre, which put him on the retreat from public life.

Prince Andrew is reportedly set to leave his longtime home, Royal Lodge, after announcing on October 17 that he would no longer use his title or honors as Duke of York. The update comes amid renewed interest around Andrew’s alleged connection to the late Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.

PEOPLE understands that the titles and positions of Béatrice and Eugénie are completely unaffected since their father has renounced his royal titles, which will not prevent their participation in future family events.

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However, a recent report from Sunday time claimed Prince William would take a tougher stance to keep his disgraced uncle away from royal life when he is king, including banning Andrew from public and private royal events, including his coronation.