UK Spending Watchdog Reveals Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Sublet Royal Lodge Cottages for Private Income
A National Audit Office investigation has revealed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor collected undisclosed private income by subletting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate for more than twenty years, during which he paid only a peppercorn rent for the Crown Estate property. The NAO published the most detailed review ever of royal property arrangements on Friday, June 4, showing that some leases were based on commercial valuations while for others, senior figures paid no rent or negligible amounts. The report also confirmed that King Charles III pays the accommodation costs for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie out of his own private income, despite both women being non-working royals. nusWHBL
Andrew’s Royal Lodge Arrangements
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor committed to spend £7.5 million to renovate Royal Lodge, which reduced his capital premium payment to £1 million and a peppercorn rent — effectively nothing. Wionews
As part of his leasing agreement with the Crown Estate, Mountbatten-Windsor was permitted to sublet three of the eight cottages on the estate while he occupied the main 30-room mansion. He did so for more than twenty years while pocketing the rents himself. The NAO did not disclose how much income he generated through these arrangements, stating that such figures were private, nor did it confirm who the tenants were. aol
“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,” the document stated. Wionews
The subletting was not against the rules of the lease. He was the only royal with an early surrender clause, which the Crown Estate said was “to recognise the large investment made by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at the start of the lease.” nus
The Crown Estate is currently awaiting an assessment of Royal Lodge’s final state before determining any payment owed to the former tenant, which could range from £301,967 to £488,342 if no repairs are required. U.S. News & World Report
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh
Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, like 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. No detail was provided on income generated from that arrangement. aol
William and Kate’s Forest Lodge Lease
By contrast, the Prince and Princess of Wales occupy their Windsor home on markedly different terms. Prince William and Princess Kate pay £307,200 a year — around $410,000 — to rent their Windsor home, Forest Lodge, on a 20-year lease. They moved in July 2025. Wionews
They have signed a short-term 20-year lease with quarterly rent payments of £76,800 and no upfront deposit, because the couple are paying for all internal refurbishment costs. The Crown Estate paid nearly £400,000 in 2025 to refurbish Forest Lodge and three of its accompanying properties before they moved in. yahoo
The Waleses also pay £19,800 a year for a staff property. They face a rent review every five years in line with the Consumer Price Index, with increases no less than 3 percent and no more than 5 percent. The lease can be passed to any of their children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — in the future. WHBLyahoo
Charles Pays for Beatrice and Eugenie
The report also uncovered that King Charles covers the accommodation costs for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, despite neither of his nieces carrying out official royal duties. nus
Beatrice, 37, occupies an apartment in St James’s Palace, while her younger sister Eugenie, 36, resides at Ivy Cottage within Kensington Palace. Wikipedia
Up until this year, Eugenie’s rent was based on a 2018 valuation and Beatrice’s on a 2020 valuation. Eugenie’s rent ranged from 50 percent of the 2018 open market value in 2020-21 to 63 percent by 2025, while Beatrice’s ranged from 60 to 68 percent of the 2020 market value over the same period. The current rates are now 64 percent of a 2026 open market valuation for Eugenie and 68 percent for Beatrice. Wikipedia
Both rents are paid entirely by Charles out of the Privy Purse, which is made up of his Duchy of Lancaster income and other private funds. Wikipedia
A total of three properties in the occupied royal palaces are rented to non-working royals: Beatrice, Eugenie, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, whose Kensington Palace apartment rent is also being paid by the King. The Kents’ property had no record of any valuation of the lease prior to 2026. Scientific American
No details on how much the King pays for Beatrice and Eugenie’s rents were released, with the watchdog saying this was private. The Standard
Buckingham Palace’s Response
“We hope that the findings will help correct, clarify or contextualise a number of points regarding royal properties,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said. WHBL
Buckingham Palace expressed gratitude for the National Audit Office report, stating it aligned with the Royal Household’s commitment to transparency. nus
The spending watchdog offered no opinion on whether the deals represented good value for money for taxpayers. WHBL
The Context: Andrew’s Fall From Royal Life
The NAO report was commissioned following sustained parliamentary pressure over the Mountbatten-Windsor lease arrangements. The watchdog carried out its analysis after parliament’s Public Accounts Committee said last December it would hold an inquiry into the issue, amid questions about the lease Mountbatten-Windsor held for Royal Lodge. WHBL
Charles has since forced his brother to move out of Royal Lodge and stripped him of all his titles over his ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The issue has been seized on by critics of the monarchy, who increasingly question their wealth. WHBL
Andrew now lives on the Sandringham Estate and was arrested on February 19, 2026, on suspicion of misconduct in public office, as Thames Valley Police opened an inquiry. He has always denied any wrongdoing. yahoo
Following the NAO report’s publication, Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, raised questions in parliament about the public interest implications of the arrangements. The report’s findings will be presented to the Public Accounts Committee as part of its formal inquiry. aol
Background
The Crown Estate is not the King’s private property — it belongs to the monarch for the duration of their reign but is independently run, and its profits go to the Treasury. The Sovereign Grant is calculated as a percentage of Crown Estate profits generated two years previously, reduced from 25 percent to 12 percent since 2024-25. However, soaring profits from the Crown Estate due to six new offshore wind farms led to a £45 million increase in the Sovereign Grant in 2025-26. The Crown Estate had assets worth £15 billion in 2023-24, with billions of pounds worth of properties in London, including Regent Street, as well as nearly half the land along the coast of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The NAO examined property agreements the royal family held with both the Royal Household and the Crown Estate. Screen Daily + 2
What Happens Next
The findings of the NAO report will now form the basis of a Public Accounts Committee inquiry into royal property arrangements. The Crown Estate is awaiting an assessment of Royal Lodge’s final state, with any payment to Mountbatten-Windsor contingent on the results of that assessment. The NAO found that adjusted rents for Royal Household properties requiring tenants with security clearance had been calculated using outdated market valuations for several years, and it is expected the PAC inquiry will examine whether valuations are now updated on a consistent schedule. Mountbatten-Windsor faces an ongoing police investigation and has not publicly commented on the subletting findings. No timeline has been announced for the PAC hearing. nus + 2
