1 of 3 | Deer rest near the Royal Lodge, the former official country residence of Britain’s former Prince Andrew and his family, in Windsor, Britain, on Oct. 29. File Photo by Tolga Akmen/EPA
June 5 (UPI) — Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was taking in undisclosed rental income by subletting cottages on royal property, the National Audit Office reported Friday.
Mountbatten-Windsor sublet three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate while the king paid rent for royal palaces for him and his daughters. The report by the National Audit Office, a public spending oversight organization, is the first on royal residences in 20 years.
Mountbatten-Windsor did not pay rent at the Royal Lodge because he paid $10 million, or about $8.67 million, for repairs in 2005. He also paid about $1.35 million when he took over the least in 2003.
The report said Mountbatten-Windsor was allowed to sublet property at the Royal Lodge due to a provision in the lease. Other royal properties allow sublets to generate income with the permission of the Crown Estate.
His daughters, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, have properties in Kensington Palace and St. James’s Palace, respectively. Neither pays rent for their properties, as it is paid by the king’s “privy purse,” the monarchy’s personal money. Their palaces are maintained with public money.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s home at Royal Lodge spanned 30 rooms. He lived there until February when he was stripped of his title and removed over his connection with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“In the case of the Royal Lodge, three cottages on the estate were sublet with income generated payable to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor,” the National Audit Office report said. “We do not know what rent was charged.”
