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The erstwhile Prince Andrew made wealth by subletting 3 cottages connected the property wherever helium lived rent-free for 2 decades, according to a study connected the royal family's properties released connected Friday (June 5, 2026) by the U.K. nationalist spending watchdog.
It besides disclosed that his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, unrecorded successful rent-controlled palace properties paid for by their uncle, King Charles III.
The National Audit Office study said Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received income from renting retired the cottages connected the Royal Lodge estate, his location adjacent Windsor Castle for much than 20 years.
A lease for Royal Lodge signed successful 2003 shows helium paid lone a nominal interest known arsenic a “peppercorn rent” for the property, which included a 30-room mansion and 8 cottages, 3 of which helium was allowed to sublet.
The magnitude of income was not included successful the report, an omission that Margaret Hodge, a Labour subordinate of the House of Lords and erstwhile caput of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, said was concerning.
“It's shocking that the National Audit Office was not capable to found however overmuch wealth Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor secured from the properties helium let,” she said.
The audit bureau reappraisal was carried retired astatine the petition of lawmakers aft Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles and evicted from Royal Lodge by his brother, the king, pursuing revelations astir his relationship with the precocious convicted enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor moved earlier this twelvemonth to the king's Sandringham Estate successful eastbound England.
In February, the erstwhile prince, 66, was arrested and questioned by police astir allegations of misconduct successful nationalist office. Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and has not been charged.
The audit bureau study shows that 11 moving royals person escaped lodging wrong palaces successful instrumentality for their authoritative duties. They see the king and Queen Camilla, Prince William and his woman Catherine, and the king's youngest brother, Prince Edward, and his woman Sophie.
Mr. William and Ms. Kate besides person a household location adjacent Windsor, for which they wage rent of 307,200 pounds (about $4,13,000) a year.
The rents connected Eugenie's cottage successful Kensington Palace and Beatrice's flat successful St James's Palace are acceptable astatine a information of open-market worth that has ranged successful caller years betwixt 50% and 68%. Both rents are paid retired of the Privy Purse, the monarch's backstage funds.
The brace are not considered “working” royals who transportation retired nationalist duties, and some person extracurricular jobs.
Buckingham Palace said the audit bureau study “is successful enactment with the royal household's committedness to transparency. We anticipation that the findings volition assistance correct, clarify oregon contextualize a fig of points regarding royal properties.” Critics of the monarchy cited the findings arsenic grounds the royal household does not wage its way.
“It shows an implicit full contempt for the taxpayer, not lone that Andrew was capable to person a peppercorn rent for a gigantic property, but past to marque perchance millions connected the broadside from subletting properties,” said erstwhile Liberal Democrat lawmaker Norman Baker, a longtime professional of royal finances.
Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor has featured successful millions of pages of documents astir Epstein released by the U.S. Department of Justice successful January, showing however the affluent financier utilized an planetary web of rich, almighty friends to summation power and sexually exploit young women and girls.
British constabulary are looking into claims that Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor sent confidential commercialized accusation to the disgraced financier erstwhile helium served arsenic U.K. commercialized envoy from 2001 to 2011.
Detectives accidental they whitethorn broaden their probe to see allegations of intersexual misconduct and person appealed for witnesses to travel forward.
Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor has seldom been seen successful nationalist since helium moved to the Sandringham Estate, astir 100 miles (160 km) northbound of London. He was photographed connected Thursday (June 4, 2026) successful a car with a ample bruise connected his face.
The Times of London said, without citing sources, that the bruise was the effect of a “nonserious aesculapian condition”.
