london —
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor made money by subletting three cottages on his Windsor estate, an independent report into the royal family’s property arrangements revealed on Friday.
Mountbatten-Windsor, known as Prince Andrew until he was stripped of his royal title by his brother Charles III over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, lived at Royal Lodge in Windsor for more than 20 years.
A report compiled by public spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) failed to establish how much income Mountbatten Windsor received from subletting the cottages.
He himself only paid £1 million ($1.3 million) upfront for a 75-year lease in 2003 and peppercorn rent (a symbolic and insignificant amount) to live in the 30-room mansion and surrounding grounds.
He also paid £7.5 million ($10 million) to renovate the lodge, which the report says was a reduction of his advance payment.
Those financially advantageous arrangements came under new scrutiny in the weeks after the close relationship between Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor and Mr. Epstein came into the spotlight again last fall, when the U.S. Department of Justice released documents in its possession on the late sex offender.
Mountbatten-Windsor is currently being investigated by British police for alleged misconduct in office while serving as trade minister in the 2000s. Police announced last month that they may also look into allegations of sexual misconduct as part of those investigations.
Detailed financial reports on the royal family’s assets are rare, and this is the first such report to be made public in 20 years.
Buckingham Palace “appreciates” the report, a spokesperson told CNN. This is “in line with the Royal Family’s commitment to transparency”.
Mountbatten-Windsor may be entitled to more than £300,000 (about $400,000) in compensation for having to leave Royal Lodge early, the report said. However, palace officials said this amount was unlikely to be paid due to the potential cost of restoration work that would need to be carried out on the grounds.
The report also revealed that Mountbatten-Windsor’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, do not work as members of the royal family, but live in the palace, with their rent paid by King Charles from his personal income. A similar arrangement exists with Prince Michael of Kent, a cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and his wife.
These three properties are typically rented at 60% of their open market value because they are located within a secure warning zone, which limits who can live there, the report said. But that policy was “not always strictly followed,” the report added, with Beatrice and Eugenie’s rents until 2026 set based on open market valuations in 2020 and 2018, respectively.
Another 145 properties owned by the Crown are rented out to staff, who receive 16.7% of their salary towards accommodation. A further 32 units are being rented on the open market, and several others have their own arrangements for former long-term employees. These properties generated a total of £3.6 million ($4.8 million) in income last year.
