Bruised Andrew back in spotlight over secret rent deals
Victoria Ward
Updated ,first published
London: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor made money from his Windsor estate despite paying a peppercorn rent for two decades.
The former Duke of York sublet three of the eight cottages on the grounds of Royal Lodge to generate personal income, an arrangement permitted under the terms of his lease.
The National Audit Office (NAO) revealed in a 50-page report that the disgraced royal leased the cottages “directly” to tenants for an undisclosed sum.
The revelation raises the possibility that Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, made a notable profit from the property while still a working member of the royal family, having leased it rent-free from the Crown Estate after making a £7.5 million ($14 million) payment for refurbishment in 2003.
The report was commissioned late last year following an outcry over Mountbatten-Windsor’s lease arrangements.
A royal source insisted that the properties were sublet to staff or their families at reduced rates to cover maintenance and running costs, rather than to generate profit. However, the income was paid directly to Mountbatten-Windsor, and it is not known how much he charged.
The NAO report also revealed that King Charles was paying the rent on two properties leased to Mountbatten-Windsor’s daughters, Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 36.
Mountbatten-Windsor was in effect evicted from his 30-room Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge, in October following “serious and disturbing” allegations over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
His eventual relocation to the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk drew a line under the so-called siege of Royal Lodge, after he resisted the move for some 18 months.
At the same time, he was stripped of all his titles. The former duke was then arrested on his 66th birthday in February, on suspicion of committing misconduct in public office. Thames Valley Police has since revealed that officers are also looking into sexual misconduct allegations. Mountbatten-Windsor denies any wrongdoing.
Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, said on Thursday (London time) that the police investigation would look at a “pattern of conduct” over a number of years. He admitted the “complex” case could take more than a year to conclude.
Mountbatten-Windsor was photographed on Thursday at the wheel of his car, sporting a large bruise across his right cheek.
A well-placed source downplayed the severity of the bruising, insisting that there had been no accident or attack. However, the cause was not revealed owing to his right to medical confidentiality.
The NAO report was billed as an update on its 2005 report into royal property arrangements.
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, aged 83 and 81, have continued to live for free in their grand apartment at Kensington Palace, the watchdog discovered. Buckingham Palace announced in 2008 that the couple would pay their own way, having had their rent covered by Elizabeth II since 2002.
However, a royal source revealed that the late Queen quietly agreed to continue to foot the bill, an arrangement that has been honoured by the King.
The report was commissioned late last year after the public accounts committee announced an inquiry into the way royal estates were managed and whether they offered value for money for the taxpayer.
MPs have not ruled out calling in members of the royal family to give evidence when they launch their inquiry later this month.
The NAO reviewed royal housing arrangements dating back to 2018. It declined to publish the current market valuations collected for each property, insisting that such figures were “private”.
The report found that while seven members of the royal family occupied five properties leased from the Crown Estate, the leases varied in terms of the down-payment required, responsibility for upkeep, and surrender clauses.
In 2024-25, the royal household generated £3.6 million in rental income.
The Crown Estate – a vast portfolio of land and property – belongs to the reigning monarch “in right of the crown”, but it is not their private property. It is run as an independent business, with profits paid directly to the Treasury. A proportion of the money, known as the Sovereign Grant, is then handed to the royal family to support its official duties.
A spokesman for the Crown Estate said: “We welcome the NAO review, which confirms its leases with members of the royal family were agreed in line with independent, professional advice and open market valuations. We look forward to discussing the report further with the public accounts committee.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the report was “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.”
The Telegraph, London
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