UK watchdog reveals Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sublet cottages while paying zero rent, and King Charles covers daughters' palace costs

The NAO investigation

The National Audit Office (NAO) published its first report on royal residences in 20 years on Friday, examining 12 properties used by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, his family, and his staff. The inquiry was triggered after parliament's Public Accounts Committee announced last December it would investigate the lease Mountbatten-Windsor held for Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate. The watchdog offered no opinion on whether the deals represented good value for money for taxpayers.

We hope that the findings will help correct, clarify or contextualise a number of points regarding royal properties.

Andrew's property empire

Under a 2003 deal, Mountbatten-Windsor obtained a 75-year lease for Royal Lodge in return for a £1 million upfront payment and a commitment to perform £7.5 million in renovations, which he carried out. Thereafter he paid a peppercorn rent, effectively zero, for the 30-room mansion and eight cottages on its 40-hectare estate. Three of those cottages were sublet, with the rental income flowing directly to Mountbatten-Windsor rather than to the Crown Estate. Neither the NAO nor the Crown Estate had details on how much rent was charged. The cottages became unoccupied in April.

Mountbatten-Windsor also paid £12,922 a year for Sunninghill Park in Windsor, used by a member of his staff. That lease ends in July next year. Sources close to Buckingham Palace suggested the subletting did not generate a profit and that rent was set only to cover maintenance and running costs for staff living there, but no figures or rental agreements have been made public.

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.

The princesses' rent

The report also revealed that King Charles pays for accommodation in royal palaces for Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, Mountbatten-Windsor's daughters, who do not carry out official royal duties. Beatrice occupies a property at St James's Palace and Eugenie at Kensington Palace. They pay no rent themselves; the cost is covered by the monarch's private purse and paid to the Royal Household. Both palaces are maintained through public funding via the Sovereign Grant. A Palace source stated there would be no additional costs for the Sovereign Grant. The report does not specify the amount paid, but it is presumed to correspond to 60 percent of market price.

There's no way that non-working members of the royal family should be subsidised by the Duchy of Lancaster. The royal family is yet again taking the public for a complete ride.

The Epstein fallout

King Charles stripped his brother of all royal titles and honours last autumn over his ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In February, police searched Royal Lodge and Mountbatten-Windsor was briefly arrested. He has since moved out and now lives at Sandringham in Norfolk, though his lease on Royal Lodge runs until October 2026. He is under police investigation for misconduct in public office, suspected of sharing confidential economic documents with Epstein while serving as UK trade envoy between 2001 and 2011. Mountbatten-Windsor denies any wrongdoing.

Wider royal property picture

The report also noted that Prince William, the heir to the throne, pays more than £300,000 in annual rent for Forest Lodge in Windsor, where he moved last year with Princess Kate and their three children. A Crown Estate spokesperson said leases with members of the royal family were in line with independent, professional advice and open market valuations. The NAO findings will be followed by an inquiry from the Public Accounts Committee.