Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sublet three properties on the Royal Lodge estate to boost his private income for more than 20 years – despite paying a “peppercorn rent” himself, a new audit reveals.
As part of his leasing agreement with The Crown Estate (TCE), the former prince was allowed to rent out three of its eight cottages while he occupied the main 30-room mansion and he did so while pocketing the rents, an investigation by the National Audit Office (NAO) found.
It is not known how much income the former Duke of York received, or who was renting them. All tenants had vacated the cottages by April this year, according to auditors.
The former prince was instructed to leave the mansion on the Windsor estate and formally stripped of his royal title in October 2025 following controversy over his links to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. He denies any wrongdoing.
The NAO probe sheds light on the property arrangements of members of the royal family prompted by the controversy surrounding the disgraced former duke’s lease and revelations that he had paid almost no rent since 2003. The report also covers the housing agreements for the Prince and Princess of Wales and Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
It reveals:
- The former prince could attempt to claim between £300,000 and £488,000 for the early surrender of his 75-year lease at Royal Lodge – although TCE has previously said it is likely he will receive nothing “once dilapidations are taken into account”
- His two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, have their rent in royal properties covered by the privy purse
- The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh pay a peppercorn rent for their Bagshot Park home in Surrey
- The Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have their royal household rent paid by King Charles
- Almost £400,000 worth of repairs were carried out to Forest Lodge before Prince William and Kate moved to the Windsor estate property last August
Following the NAO report’s publication, Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, said: “Every revelation about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor highlights how he has proflicated [sic] from his position and exploited this for his own benefit at the expense of others. When people are struggling to afford their rent, it is galling that he only paid a peppercorn rent.”
The former Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker branded the arrangements “outrageous”. “It shows an absolute total contempt for the taxpayer, not only that Andrew was able to have a peppercorn rent for a gigantic property, but then to make potentially millions on the side from subletting properties,” he said. “The money should have gone to the Crown Estate, not into (his) pockets.”
In February, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, who was arrested on suspicion of public misconduct the same month following allegations that he leaked sensitive government information to Epstein during his time as UK trade envoy, moved to Wood Farm on King Charles’s privately owned Sandringham Estate. He is living there while Marsh Farm, which is set to become his permanent home, undergoes renovations.
Detailing the properties paid for by the privy purse, the report said the rents, which include Princess Beatrice’s accommodation at St James’s Palace and Princess Eugenie’s Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace, is generally set at around 60 per cent of open market rate, although the report found this had not always been consistently applied.
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. No details on how much the King pays for their rents were released, with the watchdog saying this was private.
The Prince and Princess of Wales pay a yearly rent of £307,200, which is reviewed every five years, for their Forest Lodge home, according to the report. It showed they have signed a “short-term 20-year lease” with quarterly rent payments, totalling £76,800, and no upfront deposit because the couple are paying for all internal refurbishment costs.
Prior to William and Kate moving in, the Crown Estate funded £396,993 of repairs at the mansion, two of three cottages on the site, a barn and the grounds in line with its obligations as a landlord.
The couple’s tenancy covers the Grade II listed Georgian house, gardens, paddock with 7.4 hectares, a barn and three cottages, which are used for staff. They face a rent review every five years with an increase of between 3 and 5 per cent, in line with the Consumer Price Index.
In other findings, Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, like Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, can sublet homes on the Bagshot Park estate, and collected private income by renting out its stables to a third party up to 2020.
The findings of the report will now be presented to MPs on the public accounts committee as part of a wider inquiry triggered by revelations over the ex-Duke’s rent arrangements. The inquiry is expected to take place later this year.
A spokesperson for The Crown Estate said: “The Crown Estate welcomes the National Audit Office’s 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 in due course.”
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace 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.”
Kensington Palace, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have been contacted for comment.
