Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sublet Royal Lodge cottages, watchdog says

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - LONDON —Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor generated an undisclosed rental income from sub-letting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate that he leased from the Crown Estate, the public spending watchdog has revealed.

The National Audit Office (NAO) report also revealed that the King pays the rent for accommodation in royal palaces for Mountbatten-Windsor's daughters Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, who are not working royals.

Mountbatten-Windsor — known as Prince Andrew until his brother King Charles III stripped him of his titles over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — lived at the Royal Lodge in Windsor for more than 20 years.

The report couldn’t establish how much income Mountbatten-Windsor generated from subletting the cottages.

He himself paid just £1 million ($1.3 million) upfront for a 75-year lease in 2003` and a peppercorn rent — a symbolic, negligible amount — to live at the 30-room mansion and surrounding estate.

He also paid £7.5 million ($10 million) to renovate the lodge, a sum that the report said reduced the upfront payment.

Such a financially favorable arrangement came under renewed scrutiny last fall in the weeks after Mountbatten-Windsor’s close relationship with Epstein was once again highlighted when the US Department of Justice released the documents it held relating to the late sex offender.

Mountbatten-Windsor is currently being investigated by British police over possible misconduct in public office while he was a trade envoy in the 2000s. Police said last month they could also look into allegations of sexual misconduct as part of these investigations.

Reports detailing the finances of the royal family’s properties are rare – this one is the first to be released in 20 years.

Buckingham Palace is “grateful” for the report, which is “in line with The Royal Household’s commitment to transparency,” a spokesperson said.

Mountbatten-Windsor could also be entitled to a compensation payment of just over £300,000 ($400,000) since he had to move out of the Royal Lodge early, the report said. However, a palace source said it is unlikely this sum will be paid due to the potential cost of repair works needing to be carried out at the property.

The report also revealed that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie lived at royal palaces with their rents paid by King Charles, using his private income. A similar arrangement exists for Prince Michael of Kent, the late Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, and his wife.

These three properties are typically rented at 60% of their open market value since they are located within a secure cordoned area, restricting who can live there, the report said. However, that policy is “not always strictly followed,” the report added, and until 2026 the rent for Beatrice and Eugenie had been set using open market valuations from 2020 and 2018, respectively.

Another 145 properties belonging to the Royal Household are rented out to staff, who pay 16.7% of their salary toward accommodation costs. A further 32 are rented on the open market, and a handful of others have their own arrangements for former-long term employees. In total, these properties generated £3.6 million ($4.8 million) in income last year.