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Audit Finds Ex‑Prince Andrew Sublet Royal Lodge Cottages While Paying Peppercorn Rent

The National Audit Office says opaque lease terms and mixed public and private funding raise transparency questions and have prompted a planned Public Accounts Committee inquiry.

FILE - Britain's Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
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A report by the National Audit Office has revealed the King is paying the rent on two royal London properties used by Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice (Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse)
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Overview

  • The National Audit Office report, released Friday, confirmed Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor sublet three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate and received rental income while occupying the 30‑room house on a nominal “peppercorn” rent.
  • Auditors said they could not establish how much income Andrew earned because records did not show the rents charged and the cottages were vacated in April.
  • The report also shows the king’s Privy Purse, the monarch’s private funds funded largely by the Duchy of Lancaster, pays the adjusted rents for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie’s palace homes rather than those princesses themselves.
  • Buckingham Palace and The Crown Estate defended the deals as agreed with professional advice and welcomed the NAO review, and MPs on the Public Accounts Committee are expected to open a formal inquiry into royal property arrangements later this year.
  • The audit is the first major review of royal residences in about 20 years and highlights how bespoke long leases, repairs funded by the Crown Estate, and mixed use of Privy Purse and Sovereign Grant money can blur who benefits from or pays for royal housing.