Prince Andrew earned private rent from subletting Royal Lodge cottages while living rent‑free
A National Audit Office report found that Prince Andrew (Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor) received undisclosed private income by sub‑letting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate, where he lived rent‑free under a pepper‑corn lease for more than two decades. The amount of income was not disclosed. His lease, signed in 2003, runs until October 2026, though he vacated the main house earlier and now lives on the Sandringham estate.
The report also confirmed that King Charles pays the rent for the palace apartments of Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, from the monarch’s private “privy purse”. Critics, including former minister Norman Baker, described the arrangements as an abuse of taxpayer funds and called for greater transparency. A parliamentary Public Accounts Committee inquiry is slated to follow.
Around the same time, Andrew was photographed near his Sandringham home with a large facial bruise, though no official explanation has been given.