Prince Andrew has not paid rent on Royal Lodge for two decades
The Prince has paid a ‘peppercorn’ sum for his seven-bedroom Windsor mansion since 2003 and is entitled to live at Royal Lodge until 2078.
Prince Andrew has not paid rent on his grace-and-favour mansion on the Windsor estate for two decades.
A copy of the leasehold agreement for Royal Lodge, obtained by The Times, reveals the terms under which the prince lives on the 30-room estate.
It states that, while the prince paid £1 million for the lease plus at least £7.5m ($3.64m) for refurbishments completed in 2005, he has paid “one peppercorn (if demanded)” in rent a year since 2003. He and his family are entitled to live in the property until 2078.
The revelation will pile pressure on Andrew to give up the seven-bedroom mansion, which has been described as his “last status symbol”.
The agreement also includes a clause stating that the Crown Estate, which manages crown properties for the benefit of the taxpayer, would need to pay Andrew about £558,000 if he was to give up the lease. This would be made up of a “compensatory sum” of £185,865 a year until year 25 of the agreement was reached in 2028.
The Crown Estate disclosed an unredacted version of the lease to The Times after demands from MPs and campaigners.
Stripped of titles
On Friday Andrew was forced to relinquish all his titles, including the Duke of York and Knight of the Garter, after his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein threatened to overshadow the reign of his brother, the King. He will remain known as Prince Andrew, in accordance with a law set down by George V in 1917, which stipulates that a son of a monarch can be called a prince.
It was previously believed that Andrew had paid pounds 1 million for the lease and a “notional rent” of £260,000 a year from 2003, on top of a commitment to fund a pounds 7.5 million refurbishment of the property. However, the lease agreement shows that the notional rent would have been paid only if he had failed to do the work.
The £8.5m initial outlay is equivalent to £113,000 a year if Andrew or his family remained in the property for 75 years, less than half the “notional” market rent.
The home was occupied by the Queen Mother until her death in 2002, at which point Andrew said he would like to move in.
The “one peppercorn” in rent goes some way to addressing the question of how Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, his former wife, have been able to afford to live in the mansion.
The King cut Andrew off financially last year when he removed his £1 million annual allowance, leaving his only declared income as a £20,000 naval pension. Questions remain about how he funds his estimated £3m a year security bill.
The Metropolitan Police are investigating whether the prince asked a royal protection officer to “dig up dirt” on Virginia Giuffre, who had accused him of sexual abuse. Andrew has denied the claims made by Giuffre. A Palace source said the allegations should be examined “in the proper and fullest ways”, in a sign of the pressure building on the prince. Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl, will be published today (Tuesday).
The King has tried to persuade Andrew to give up his right to the house and instead move into Frogmore Cottage. The four-bedroom cottage, recently renovated by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, is more modest and is inside the Windsor security cordon.
By contrast, Royal Lodge is a sprawling estate encompassing 40 hectares in the heart of Windsor Great Park. The grade II listed property includes a gardener’s residence, six cottages for live-in staff and a “police suite” providing accommodation for security officers.
It has long been said that Andrew could not be removed by legal force until 2078 because of an “iron-clad” lease. The 25-page document contains several standard clauses, including a requirement that “no part of the premises shall be used for any illegal or immoral purpose”, or “any act or thing whatsoever which may be or become a nuisance, annoyance or disturbance to the landlord or the owner”.
Just one peppercorn
A National Audit Office report, from 2005, recorded that the lease’s terms were reviewed by two independent advisers, and that without the prince’s input the refurbishment would have been paid for by the Crown Estate. The works were substantially completed by 2005 as agreed. Two years later Andrew sold his home in Sunninghill Park, Berkshire – a wedding present from the Queen – for £12 million. The Crown Estate confirmed Royal Lodge was held on a peppercorn rent, and a value “nil” was recorded in the audit office report. Andrew must continue to pay for the buildings’ upkeep. The report noted the lease to Andrew was “appropriate in view of the overriding need to maintain close management control over Royal Lodge”.
Baroness Hodge of Barking, a former chair of the Commons public accounts committee, said: “The Crown Estate is owned by us, and the onus is on those running the estate to maximise our income out of it. We should not be treating anyone in a different way.”
The Times
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout