Former prince Andrew made money by subletting cottages during
his time at Royal Lodge.
The younger brother of King Charles lived at the thirty room
residence for over twenty years.
Now, a new report has revealed he was allowed to sublet cottages
belonging to the property and rented out three residences during
his time there.
The investigation, by the National Audit Office, was unable to
identify how much money Andrew made by letting the cottages.
During his two decades at Royal Lodge, on the Windsor estate, he
paid only a peppercorn rent. This is a small, nominal fee – usually
a peppercorn. The arrangement was made in exchange for him funding
extensive renovations at the property. It’s understood the
peppercorns were never asked for or handed over.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor gave up his tenancy of Royal Lodge
and moved to the Sandringham estate earlier this year. He now lives
in a property belonging to his brother, The King.
Royal Lodge and the cottages he sublet are part of the Crown
Estate.
The report also confirmed that Andrew is entitled to
compensation after voluntarily giving up the tenancy of Royal Lodge
early. It estimates he is owed around £301, 000. However, this will
be set against the cost of repairs that will need to be made to the
property following his residence there. It is believed these
dilapidation costs will cancel out any money owed.
The report into the royal residences also revealed that Andrew’s
two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, have homes
within royal palaces which attract a rent set at around 60% of
market value in the area. The report also revealed that the cost of
this rent is covered by The King, meaning that neither princess
pays for their central London homes.
Neither Beatrice nor Eugenie is a working member of the Royal
Family and both have private homes outside the capital.
The NAO report outlined which royals are living on property
owned by the Crown estate. Currently, properties belonging to the
estate are let to the Prince and Princess of Wales who have a
twenty year lease on Forest Lodge on the Windsor estate. The Duke
and Duchess of Edinburgh live at another Crown estate property,
Bagshot Park. Princess Alexandra, who remains a working royal
although her engagements are now much curtailed as she approaches
her 90th birthday this year, is a tenant at Thatched Lodge at
Richmond.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are also permitted to sublet
property at their home and did rent out a stable block there until
2020. Again, figures for the money made in that process are
unavailable.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor left Royal Lodge in early 2026,
having agreed to move out in October 2025 when King Charles also
stripped his brother of his royal titles.
Andrew was arrested in early February by police investigating
misconduct in public office and his home at Sandringham as well as
his former residence at Royal Lodge were searched. He was later
released, after 11 hours of questioning, without charge but under
investigation.
