Royal Lodge: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor receives £302,000 in compensation
The former prince is owed money for surrendering his lease early. It is being offset against £1.8 million in repair costs, leaving him with a hefty bill.
Archive image · Photo: N Chadwick / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III, is receiving £302,000 (about €347,000) for giving up his lease on Royal Lodge. The Crown Estate confirmed this on Friday. He is entitled to compensation because he left less than 25 years into a 75-year lease. The sum is being offset against £1.8 million he owes for repairs, leaving a bill of around £1.5 million. "The lease for Royal Lodge has ended," the Crown Estate said, adding that its focus is now on the property's future use.
Andrew signed the lease in 2003, committing to spend £7.5 million on renovations and to make an initial payment of £1 million. After that he paid only a nominal rent, which repeatedly drew criticism. Last year the King stripped him of his princely title over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and ordered him to move out. He now lives on the Sandringham Estate in eastern England, which is privately owned by the King.
Separately, a police investigation into alleged misconduct in public office linked to Epstein is under way. Andrew denies any wrongdoing. Police searched Royal Lodge for six days in February. On Thursday he won a legal challenge after police acknowledged that the search warrants had been unlawful.