Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could have made “up to £180,000 per year” from subletting three Royal Lodge cottages to supplement his private income, a valuer has estimated.
The “unique setting, security, and prestige” of the properties mean the former prince could have been bringing in between £7,500 and £15,000 per month in rental income, according to Robin Edwards, a property buying agent at Curetons.
It comes as a new report from the National Audit Office (NAO) revealed the former Duke of York was pocketing rental income from three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate – while paying a peppercorn rent himself.
The report did not detail how much income Mr Mountbatten-Windsor generated from subletting the cottages, which cottages were sublet, or for how long they were rented out. It also did not disclose who his tenants were.
All tenants had vacated the cottages by April this year, according to auditors.
But Mr Edwards told The Independent he would expect rents in the region of £2,500 to £5,000 per month per cottage, although this would depend on their size, specification and exact location within the estate.
The details of the sublet cottages, including their size and facilities, have not been made public.
Based on an assumption of three bedrooms and two bathrooms, Mr Edwards said: “Three-bedroom cottages within the Windsor Estate would command a premium because of their unique setting, security and prestige. Assuming they are well-maintained period cottages, I would expect rents in the region of £2,500 to £5,000 per month per cottage, depending on size, specification and exact location within the estate.
“For three such cottages, a landlord could potentially generate between £7,500 and £15,000 per month in rental income, equivalent to roughly £90,000 to £180,000 per year.”
He added that while the exclusivity of the location makes the properties more desirable, potential restrictions from living on the estate could mean the premium on the cottages could be limited.
Mr Edwards said: “While the royal association adds desirability, the rural location and potential restrictions associated with estate living may limit the premium compared with central London properties.”
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was told to leave the 30-room mansion on the Windsor estate and formally stripped of his royal title in October 2025 following controversy over his links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. He denies any wrongdoing.
Reacting to the report, the former chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, Baroness Margaret Hodge, branded the NAO’s decision not to establish the former prince’s income from the sublets as “shocking”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that she was “very concerned” the National Audit Office was “not able to find how much money was being secured by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from letting the properties” and about how its report did not cover “all of the Crown Estate properties”.
The Labour peer, chairwoman of the committee from 2010 to 2015, said: “We all want a royal family to be continued to be respected, valued, and treasured. I want a royal family, but in a modern era that does require proper transparency and accountability.
“It’s shocking that the National Audit Office was not able to establish how much money Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor secured from the properties he let.”
The NAO report reveals the property arrangements of members of the royal family, including of the Prince and Princess of Wales. It was prompted by the controversy surrounding the disgraced former duke’s lease and revelations that he had paid almost no rent since 2003.
Auditors found the King Charles is paying the rents of Mr Mountbatten Windsor’s two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, for their accommodation at St James’s Palace and Kensington Palace respectively.
Princess Beatrice’s rent at St James’s Palace is discounted to 68 per cent of open market value, and Princess Eugenie’s Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace is discounted to 64 per cent of open market value, according to the report. It does not detail the figures paid by the King through the privy purse.
Mr Edwards estimated the rental value of an apartment at St James’s Palace to be around £20,000 per month, meaning the King could be paying around £13,600 per month for Princess Beatrice’s rent.
For Princess Eugenie’s Ivy Cottage, he estimated an open market rental value of £15,000 per month, meaning the King could be paying around £9,600 per month.
The King’s nieces Eugenie, 36, and Beatrice, 37, are non-working royals who both have jobs, and Beatrice is married to a multimillionaire property developer.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace previously said the report was “in line with The Royal Household’s commitment to transparency” and they hope that the findings will “help correct, clarify or contextualise a number of points regarding Royal properties.
As the report notes, arrangements for properties managed by the royal household vary based on a number of factors to ensure residences are filled appropriately, depending on their location, tenants and purpose.”
Buckingham Palace and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have been contacted for comment.
