Disgraced royal Andrew sublet houses while paying 'peppercorn rent': UK auditors

The disgraced former prince Andrew earned a private income from subletting cottages while paying a symbolic "peppercorn rent" for a mansion for over two decades, the UK government auditor revealed.

King Charles III's disgraced brother, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, until recently lived in the Royal Lodge on the royal family's Windsor estate near London.

While living virtually rent-free in a 30-room house, Andrew pocketed proceeds from subletting three cottages on its large grounds, a report on royal property income by the National Audit Office revealed, amid debate over the family's opaque property arrangements.

The National Audit Office said "three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate were ... sublet," with "income generated from subletting payable to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor."

"We do not know what rent was charged," the National Audit Office said.

The cottages have been vacant since April, it said.

Andrew's daughters Beatrice and Eugenie have apartments at royal palaces with rent paid from the privy purse—King Charles's private income—despite not being working royals, the report also revealed. 

This comes as parliament's Public Accounts Committee is set to launch an inquiry this year into royal properties.

Andrew, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II was briefly arrested in February amid new revelations stemming from his ties to the late billionaire US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Police searched the Royal Lodge in February as part of the probe into his suspected misconduct in public office.

Andrew has since moved to the king's private Sandringham estate in eastern England.

He paid a £1 mn "premium" to lease the Royal Lodge, agreeing to spend £7.5 mn on improvements to secure a 75-year lease on a peppercorn rent.

The lease allowed Andrew to claim compensation for ending it early.

By moving out this year, he could claim over £300,000, but is expected to receive nothing because of the needed repairs, according to the Crown Estate.            

This self-funding public corporation that manages royal properties is supposed to follow the finance ministry guidelines on the effective use of public funds.

Charles has been undertaking an overhaul of the royal family's finances since his mother's death in 2022.

His heir, Prince William, the Prince of Wales, pays over £300,000 annual rent for a house in Windsor, Forest Lodge, the Audit Office said.