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Britain’s former prince and Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, will be refused a six-figure compensation payment for his early eviction due to the state of renovation of his 30-room Windsor mansion, the Royal Household has announced.
In a briefing to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which examines the value for money of government projects and services, the Crown Estate said an initial assessment of the Royal Lodge showed it was “likely that Mr Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor would not be liable for compensation for early surrender of the lease, given its age”.
The Crown Estate added that while it did not believe there would be “a guarantee that compensation would be paid”, Andrew would receive a six-figure sum of £488,342.21 ($644,336) if “no repairs or dilapidations are required after the end of the lease”.
King Charles announced in October that he was stripping Andrew of his title of “prince” over a dispute over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and ordered his brother to leave Andrew’s estate in Windsor Great Park, west of London.
The property, which has been Andrew’s home since 2003, is set on 40 hectares (99 acres). The grounds include a swimming pool, aviary, six lodge cottages, a gardener’s cottage and accommodation for the royal police force.
The late Queen Elizabeth II granted Andrew, the third of her four children, the right to live in a lodge officially owned by the Crown Estate. The Prince paid £1 million for the property in 2003, under the terms of a 75-year lease, which expired on 15 June 2078, under which he was to pay for the renovation work and upkeep of the surrounding grounds.
Andrew will move to the British monarch’s private estate at Sandringham Estate, about 160 miles north of London. Andrew’s new accommodation will be privately funded by King Charles, but royal sources say he is not expected to be able to move in until after the Christmas holidays.
The news comes as PAC announced on Tuesday that it would launch an investigation into the Crown Estate into unresolved questions about Andrew’s lease.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Member of Parliament and PAC Chair, thanked the Crown Estate and Treasury for responding to the committee’s questions, adding: “Looking back at what we have received, the information provided is clearly the beginning of the basis for the investigation.”
“We are currently awaiting the conclusions that the NAO (National Audit Office) will draw from this information and will conduct an investigation in the new year based on the resulting evidence,” he added.
The inquiry will examine property leases between the Crown Estate and the royal family, including Prince Edward’s lease of Bagshot Park near Windsor and Thatched House Lodge in Richmond, London, where Princess Alexandra and her family live.
CNN’s Lianne Kolirin and Lauren Said-Moorhouse contributed reporting.
