Andrew was sub-letting Royal Lodge cottages, watchdog reveals

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received an undisclosed rental income from sub-letting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate that he leased from the Crown Estate, the public spending watchdog has revealed.

The National Audit Office (NAO) report also revealed that the King pays the rent for accommodation in royal palaces for Mountbatten-Windsor's daughters Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, who are not working royals.

It is the first report into royal residences in 20 years and shows Mountbatten-Windsor and his family and staff had 12 properties, owned by the Crown Estate or the Royal Household.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the report was "in line with the Royal Household's commitment to transparency".

Mountbatten-Windsor had paid £7.5m for repairs when he took on the lease for Royal Lodge, and that meant that he did not have to pay a monthly rent.

The NAO report was prompted by the scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor - and will be followed by an inquiry by MPs on the public accounts committee.

It shows a collection of 12 properties used by Mountbatten-Windsor and his family.

Even though Mountbatten-Windsor left Royal Lodge earlier this year, moving to Sandringham in Norfolk, he still has the lease on Royal Lodge until October 2026.

There is no suggestion in the NAO report of any wrongdoing by Mountbatten-Windsor.

As well as the main building at Royal Lodge, there were another eight nearby properties, with Mountbatten-Windsor's lease allowing three of these cottages to be sub-let, which he did until April 2026.

The report does not say how much he received in rental income, but Palace sources suggest he rented the property to staff or retired staff and the amount was only enough to cover running costs.

Whatever the amount, it went to Mountbatten-Windsor rather than the Crown Estate, which would pay its profits back to the Treasury.

He also had another lease for a property called East Lodge, which the BBC previously revealed was to be handed back to the Crown Estate.

The report covered several aspects of royal finances, including:

• Crown Estate: An independent property company which is required to deliver good value for the public. Profits are paid to the Treasury.
• Sovereign Grant: Public funding for the official work of the monarchy. Currently almost £138m, but we're expecting it to be cut for the following year.
• Privy purse: The personal money of the monarch. Includes income from the Duchy of Lancaster.

The NAO report was prompted by the scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor - and will be followed by an inquiry by MPs on the public accounts committee.

It shows a collection of 12 properties used by Mountbatten-Windsor and his family.

Even though Mountbatten-Windsor left Royal Lodge earlier this year, moving to Sandringham in Norfolk, he still has the lease on Royal Lodge until October 2026.

There is no suggestion in the NAO report of any wrongdoing by Mountbatten-Windsor.

As well as the main building at Royal Lodge, there were another eight nearby properties, with Mountbatten-Windsor's lease allowing three of these cottages to be sub-let, which he did until April 2026.

The report does not say how much he received in rental income, but Palace sources suggest he rented the property to staff or retired staff and the amount was only enough to cover running costs.

Whatever the amount, it went to Mountbatten-Windsor rather than the Crown Estate, which would pay its profits back to the Treasury.

He also had another lease for a property called East Lodge, which the BBC previously revealed was to be handed back to the Crown Estate.

His two daughters have homes in the Cotswolds and in Portugal as well as their royal properties in the palaces.

The report also reveals that the Crown Estate paid for repairs worth almost £400,000 before the Prince and Princess of Wales moved into their Windsor home at Forest Lodge.

Princess Michael of Kent, another non-working royal, also has a property in Kensington Palace which is paid for by the privy purse.

Eleven working royals have accommodation in the palaceswithout charge in exchange for their official duties.

These are the:

• King and Queen
• Princess Royal
• Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh
• Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
• Duke of Kent
• Princess Alexandra
• Prince and Princess of Wales have an apartment in Kensington Palace, as well as their Crown Estate property.

The report found 21 other royal post-holders, including 17 military knights, have accommodation without charge in the occupied palaces.

The NAO report doesn't make any judgements on value for money or draw any conclusions, but it is intended to provide information for MPs on the public accounts committee.

"Our role is to set out the facts - and that's why this is an investigation that sets out the processes and the arrangements both from the Crown Estate and the Royal Household," said NAO director Lee Summerfield.

A Palace spokesman said it was "grateful" for the report which was "in line with the Royal Household's commitment to transparency".

"We hope that the findings will help correct, clarify or contextualise a number of points regarding royal properties," the spokesman added.

"As the report notes, arrangements for properties managed by the Royal Household vary based on a number of factors to ensure residences are filled appropriately, depending on their location, tenants and purpose," he said.

A spokesperson for The Crown Estate, said: "The Crown Estate welcomes the National Audit Office's review which confirms its leases with members of the royal family were agreed in line with independent, professional advice and open market valuations."

Baroness Margaret Hodge, former chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was "shocking" that the NAO was unable to establish how much money Mountbatten-Windsor secured from the properties he let.

She said it was also "worrying" to see that Beatrice and Eugenie and Princess Michael of Kent were being "subsidised".

Baroness Hodge said: "Now, is it appropriate for non-working royals to be subsidised by the taxpayer from a fund that belongs to the taxpayer?"

She added: "The Crown Estate is our money, it's taxpayers' money, it's not theirs, and whoever runs that has to always ensure the taxpayers' interest."

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