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Prince William allegedly threatened to strip Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of their titles unless they convinced their father Prince Andrew to vacate Royal Lodge, Emily Maitlis has alleged. Maitlis, who conducted Andrew's notorious Newsnight interview in 2019, made the allegation - despite Kensington Palace denying any such meeting between William and his cousins ever occurred. The claim emerges as Andrew faces mounting pressure to leave his 30-room Windsor residence following the ongoing scandal over his connections to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, alongside his 'peppercorn' rent arrangement which has seen him pay virtually nothing for over two decades. Andrew surrendered his Duke of York title earlier this month, though Buckingham Palace confirmed his daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, would retain their titles. However, speaking on her News Agents podcast, Maitlis revealed that camera crews rushed to Royal Lodge's gates last week following speculation of fresh developments in the controversy surrounding the late Queen's second son, reports the Mirror . This coincided with the King's historic prayer session with Pope Leo at the Vatican, with the former BBC journalist claiming it followed a "tip off". She claimed: "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. "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. "What we learned what was going to happen on Thursday was that Charles, fresh from the Vatican and his audience with the Pope, was going to come via Royal Lodge to be seen in other words reading the riot act to his brother. "Nobody was going to film the conversation or see him stepping out the car but there was going to be the moment caught on camera of King Charles's car heading to 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. The King just went straight home and never came by." Kensington Palace has confirmed to The Mirror that no meeting took place between Prince William and the princesses, and it would be factually incorrect to suggest that the Prince of Wales has the power to strip titles, as constitutionally he does not. This comes amidst increasing calls for Andrew to face MPs over his lease at the Royal Lodge, following a protestor heckling the King about his disgraced brother yesterday. Andrew is reportedly in discussions with representatives of Charles about vacating the Royal Lodge, where he has resided for over two decades. It's been suggested that he and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have agreed to leave the property in return for two separate residences. However, demands are intensifying for him to also give evidence to a Commons select committee regarding the use of public funds, after revelations that he has lived virtually rent-free in the Crown Estate property since 2003. The King tried to dismiss any family controversy during his visit to the West Midlands for a special service at the Cathedral on Monday morning. However, as he greeted crowds outside Lichfield Cathedral, a man in the crowd heckled him with a series of questions including "How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?".
