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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is set to vacate Royal Lodge in Windsor, but he is not expected to receive any financial compensation for doing so, according to details released by the Public Accounts Committee. While his lease arrangement theoretically allowed for a payment of up to £488,000 if he surrendered the 75-year lease early, a recent Crown Estate report suggests this is highly unlikely. The property’s poor condition and significant repair needs mean that Andrew “will not be owed any compensation,” the report states.
The committee chair, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, has announced that these findings will prompt a parliamentary inquiry into the Crown Estate and its dealings with royal leases. Sir Geoffrey remarked that the information “clearly forms the beginnings of a basis for an inquiry,” which is set to start next year. It remains unclear whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will be invited to provide testimony during this investigation.
Further details from the Crown Estate indicate that Andrew formally gave notice to end his tenancy on 30 October, coinciding with the public announcement that he had lost his royal titles. Although he provided a year’s notice, allowing him to remain in Royal Lodge for another 10 months, it is anticipated he will move out early next year and relocate to Sandringham in Norfolk. Since 2003, Andrew held a 75-year lease on the property, having paid more than £8.5 million upfront to cover renovation costs and in advance rent, which was set at a notional £260,000 per year. The lease also included a nominal “peppercorn” rent, a standard practice for long leases with payments made upfront.
Despite the lengthy lease and significant initial payment, a clause permitting the return of some advance payments if vacated within 25 years depended on proper maintenance of the property. The Crown Estate’s report notes that Royal Lodge is in a state typical of a tenancy of this length, but the cost to repair “dilapidations” is so high that any refund is improbable. According to a letter from the Crown Estate commissioners, the terms of this lease were “fair, reasonable and in line with market practice.” The report also mentioned Forest Lodge, the Prince and Princess of Wales’s recently leased Windsor residence. This property is leased on a 20-year term and is subject to an “open market rent” set independently.
Andrew, aged 65, had faced pressure to leave Royal Lodge for over a year amid public controversy surrounding his past associations and the decision by King Charles to cease financial support. His private lease had previously indicated no intention to leave. However, following his loss of titles, including Duke of York, he was instructed to vacate Royal Lodge as part of the broader changes, with plans to relocate within the King’s private Norfolk estate. Additionally, Andrew has been urged by members of the US Congress to testify before a committee investigating the activities related to Jeffrey Epstein, but he had not responded by the deadline last month
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