Ex-Prince Andrew Charged Tenants at Rent-Free Royal Mansion

Chief Royal Correspondent

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, generated income by subletting three cottages on the grounds of his Windsor mansion while paying only a "peppercorn rent," according to a United Kingdom public spending watchdog.

By contrast, Prince William and Princess Kate pay £307,200 (around $410,000) a year to rent their Windsor home, Forrest Lodge, on a 20-year lease despite being a future king and queen, according to a report by Britain's National Audit Office (NAO). They moved in July 2025.

Mountbatten-Windsor's lease allowed him to sublet the properties, though concerns have been raised over value for money.

Why It Matters

Living arrangements for Mountbatten‑Windsor came under scrutiny in Britain at the end of 2025 against the backdrop of mounting pressure over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The scandal saw him stripped of his “Prince” and “Duke of York” titles by King Charles III in October.

At the same time, Mountbatten‑Windsor was forced out of his Windsor home, Royal Lodge. Wider anger over the Epstein scandal became concentrated on the property after journalists resurfaced documents showing he had been required to pay only a “peppercorn rent,” a symbolic arrangement with no meaningful financial value.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's Subletted Cottages

Mountbatten-Windsor paid £1 million (about $1.3 million) up front and committed to doing £7.5 million of refurbishment work instead of paying rent. The report stated that the refurbishment work was completed within two years of the lease being signed.

The U.K. Parliament's Public Accounts Committee is preparing an inquiry into royal residences, in response to the scandal over Mountbatten-Windsor. In that context, the National Audit Office, a parliamentary watchdog, was commissioned to prepare a report, viewed by Newsweek.

"The lease for Royal Lodge also allows for the subletting of three cottages within the estate but not the main property," the report states. "All three cottages were rented to tenants directly by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. These have been vacant since April 2026. We do not know what rent was charged."

As the document indicates, the subletting was not against the rules. The wording suggests Mountbatten-Windsor's cottages remained occupied for months after the king stripped him of his "Prince" and "Duke of York" titles in October, amid a major backlash over emails that undermined his account of severing ties with Epstein. It does not make clear whether he continued to receive rent during this period.

Andrew Negotiated the Terms of His House Deal

Mountbatten-Windsor committed "to spend £7.5 million to renovate the lodge, which reduced the capital premium payment to £1 million and a peppercorn rent," the document stated.

"In Royal Lodge, [The Crown Estate] initially sought £3.5 million upfront payment (consisting of a £1 million premium plus a £2.5 million buy-out of the rent)," the report stated.

"It estimated that the necessary refurbishment of the property would cost at least £5 million. In August 2003, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor made a commitment to spend £7.5 million on refurbishment, and the final settlement reduced to a £1 million premium with a peppercorn rent. [The Crown Estate] confirmed the renovations had concluded within two years of the lease start date."

One question raised by the report is how Mountbatten-Windsor financed the upfront costs, given that his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, was known to have financial struggles over a prolonged period beginning in the 1990s, according to Andrew Lownie's book Entitled.

The book described how, in April 1994, Queen Elizabeth II had to pay off £500,000 of Ferguson's debts after the royal family's bank of choice at the time, Coutts, demanded payment within 14 days.

There is another property linked to Mountbatten-Windsor referenced in the report and described as "Staff Lodge 2, Sunninghill Park." Sunninghill Park was the former prince's previous home, which he sold in 2007.

The two-bed cottage and garden are currently occupied by an "Employee of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor" under a lease that runs to July 2027. It is unclear which employee that is, but an early surrender of the lease is currently being negotiated, according to the report.

Prince William and Princess Kate's New Home

The NAO report also contained some details of the new home of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Forrest Lodge, in Windsor.

William and Kate did not make an upfront lump-sum payment but instead owe a little more than £300,000 per year in rent, paid quarterly. As a result, The Crown Estate "paid around £400,000 to repair Forest Lodge, the three cottages and property grounds in line with their obligations as landlords."

If William and Kate were to remain at Forrest Lodge for as long as the 22 years Mountbatten-Windsor lived at Royal Lodge, then they would pay £6,758,400.

The report also confirmed William and Kate still have their Kensington Palace apartment rent-free, in return for their royal duties. It said that "Kensington Palace is the official residence of The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children," despite Forrest Lodge being the Wales family home, where their children attend Lambrook School nearby in Berkshire.

Compensation for Eviction

The NAO also revealed Mountbatten-Windsor could be eligible for compensation of between £301,967.66 and £488,342.21, depending on when the lease is surrendered.

"Royal Lodge is the only lease we reviewed with an early surrender clause and possible compensation," the document reads. "This means Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could be entitled to a compensation payment of £301,967.66, assuming a lease surrender date of 30 October 2026 and depending on the condition of the property when handed back.

"Dilapidation costs" have not yet been officially assessed, but a report prepared for Parliament by The Crown Estate, which owns Royal Lodge, said in December that in "all likelihood" Andrew "will not be owed any compensation" due to the state the building was left in, according to the BBC.

He was the only royal with an early surrender clause, which was "to recognise the large investment made by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at the start of the lease," The Crown Estate told the NAO.

Andrew's Daughters and Princess Michael of Kent

Mountbatten-Windsor's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, also have properties owned by the Royal Household for which the policy is to charge them rent at 60 percent of market value, though in practice this has been somewhat inconsistent.

However, they were not required to pay this themselves, as it was covered by the "Privy Purse," made up of profits from the Duchy of Lancaster, a centuries-old property portfolio that exists to financially support the king and funds other royal family members.

The report read: "Three properties are rented to non-working members of the Royal family in the occupied royal palaces and paid by the Privy Purse. They are Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and The Prince and Princess Michael of Kent."

Princess Michael is the royal family member who was accused of wearing a "racist" Blackamoor brooch to a royal pre-Christmas lunch at which she would meet Meghan Markle for the first time, in 2017. At the time, Michael's spokesperson said the princess was "very sorry and distressed that it has caused offence."

Princess Eugenie's rent as a percentage of market value has fluctuated between 50 percent, below the official policy, in 2020 and 2021, to 55 percent in 2022, 60 percent in 2023 and 63 percent in 2024 and 2025. "It is currently at 64 percent of the 2026 open market valuation and is paid by the Privy Purse," the report stated.

Princess Beatrice’s rent was paid at 60 percent and 68 percent between 2020 and 2026, and is currently set at the higher rate.

However, no valuation of Princess Michael's property had been done before this year. Between 2020 and 2026, her rent has increased by 34 percent, taking her to 63 percent of this year's market valuation, the report said.

Andrew and the Epstein Scandal

Virginia Giuffre said Mountbatten-Windsor sexually assaulted her in London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands after she was trafficked to him by Epstein in 2001, when she was 17. Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied the allegations.

He moved into Royal Lodge two years after that time period. Giuffre would only go on to make her allegations publicly some years later, starting in 2011.

Mountbatten-Windsor stepped back from public life in 2019 after a disastrous interview in which he sought to refute her account, and he was sued by Giuffre in New York in 2021. They settled in early 2022, and he paid her an undisclosed sum while denying liability. He did, though, release a statement acknowledging she was a trafficking victim.

Giuffre died in April 2025 by what her family described as a suicide. Her memoir, Nobody's Girl, was released after her death in October. That same month, the House Oversight Committee released a cache of emails from Epstein's estate, including messages between Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Mountbatten-Windsor.

One email, seen by Newsweek, was sent to Epstein from Mounbatten-Windsor after Giuffre's first newspaper interview with The Mail on Sunday. It read: "I'm just as concerned for you! Don't worry about me! It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it!"

Mountbatten-Windsor signed off, "keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!!!!"

The Backlash Over Royal Lodge

Reports that Mountbatten-Windsor had effectively lived rent-free for more than two decades intensified questions about fairness and the use of Crown Estate assets, which ultimately generate income for the British Government.

Senior politicians quickly amplified the backlash. Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wrote to the Treasury and the Crown Estate, demanding a full explanation of the lease, explicitly raising concerns about value for money for the taxpayer.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the Conservative MP who chaired the committee, said there was “considerable and understandable public interest in the spending of public money in relation to Prince Andrew,” particularly given he was no longer a working royal.

Pressure extended to the top of the government. At Prime Minister’s Questions, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called for a select committee inquiry to force transparency, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, "It’s important in relation to all properties, crown properties, that there is proper scrutiny, and I certainly support that.”

The intervention marked a rare and significant moment in which MPs openly challenged the financial arrangements of a senior royal.

Ultimately, Charles forced his brother to move out of Royal Lodge but made another home available to him within the Sandringham Estate, in Norfolk. Unlike Royal Lodge, Sandringham is privately owned by the royals and is not Crown Estate land. Mountbatten-Windsor is currently at March Farm.

The report offers no ruling on value for money or wrongdoing.

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