The report showed that 11 working royals were able to live rent-free in the palace, some were able to turn a profit, such as the 66-year-old royal who currently sleeps at the king’s Sandringham mansion, and the former prince allowed three properties on his 98-acre Berkshire estate in England to be rented out.
But the extent to which he lined his pockets remains a royal mystery, with Margaret Hodge, a Labor member of the House of Lords and former chair of the public accounts committee, lamenting: “It is shocking that the National Audit Office could not establish how much money Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had secured from the estates he had given to him.”
And she’s not alone in refusing to keep her cool.
Former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker elaborated: “This shows complete contempt for taxpayers. Not only was Andrew able to earn peppercorn rent on a huge property, he was also able to potentially earn millions of dollars in extra income by subletting the property.”
Buckingham Palace has not commented publicly on the report, but a spokesperson for the Crown Estate said in a statement that it “welcomes” the investigation, which “confirms that rental agreements with members of the royal family have been agreed in line with independent professional advice and open market assessments”.
We’re uncovering the truth about who’s spending the big bucks on royal palace properties.
