Should Prince Andrew's daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, be given official roles? It may not sound like a major issue, but there appears to be quite a clash over this issue.
Not surprisingly, Queen Elizabeth is caught in the hub of the row between her sons.
It began when Prince Andrew wrote to his mother asking that his daughters be given full-time royal duties with support from the Sovereign Grant, which funds their work.
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."
In his letter, Prince Andrew had expressed a fear that the Princesses might get overwhelmed after Prince Charles becomes King. He wants his daughters to get royal duties and permitted to reside at Kensington Palace, rather than St. James Palace.
"Amanda originally drafted the 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," a source said, referring to Amanda Thirsk, the Duke of York's private secretary.
"He believes his daughters are already being overshadowed by William, Kate and Harry, and the situation will get worse as Prince George and Princess Charlotte get older."
Prince Andrew's reasoning is that his girls are the only "blood princesses" in the family. Hence they have a right to get proper royal roles like William and Harry. After the Queen dies, he is afraid that they might get sidelined.
Beatrice, 28, and Eugenie, 26, are seventh and eighth in the line of succession. The formidable queue before them includes Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Harry and Andrew respectively.
The Queen became so nonplussed at the letter that she did not reply, but just asked her private secretary, Christopher Geidt, to take it up. He in turn did not write either, but put up the matter to Prince Charles, who turned down Prince Andrew's demands.
Sources said that Prince Charles prefers a "streamlined" monarchy, with William, Kate and Harry gracing major royal events. He does not want "peripheral royals" from the public payroll.
Graham Smith, of pressure group Republic, is reported to have said: "At a time of serious economic uncertainty the last thing we need is a grasping, greedy royal demanding more of our cash."
Princess Beatrice has given up full-time employment and has taken up "entrepreneurial ambitions." Princess Eugenie is associate director at a London art gallery.
In 2010, they had got stripped of their 24-hour police protection to reduce royal expenses, although Prince Andrew had been fighting for it.
In 2012, at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, only the Queen, Charles, Camilla, William, Harry and Kate made a public appearance on the Palace Balcony.
