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Andrew is set move out of the 30-room residence on the Windsor Estate
Athena StavrouTuesday 02 December 2025 15:33 GMTComments
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is unlikely to receive any compensation for leaving the Royal Lodge early due to repairs needed to be carried out after his tenancy.
The disgraced royal is set move out of the residence on the Windsor Estate early next year after he was formally stripped of all his titles over his ties to late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In his 2003 lease, it was agreed he would be paid a “compensatory sum” - amounting to £488,342.21 - if he were to move out of the 30-room mansion before 2078.
But the Crown Estate has told MPs on the Public Accounts Committee that the King’s brother will probably not receive any of this due to the state of the property.
It said said an “initial assessment” of the 30-room mansion on November 12, found he likely “will not be owed any compensation for early surrender of the lease… once dilapidations are taken into account.”
open image in galleryAndrew is set move out of the residence on the Windsor EstateThe Crown Estate also been revealed that the Prince and Princess of Wales, who moved into their new home Forest Lodge with their children in the October half term, pay “open market rent” on their 20-year-lease on the property.
This comes in contrast to Andrew’s agreement, which saw him live in the property on a ‘peppercorn rent’ since 2003, although he paid £1m for the lease and a further £7.5m for refurbishments.
The details were shared in a letter from the Crown Estate to Public Accounts Committee last week, responding to questions about the lease arrangements for Royal Lodge.
open image in galleryThe royal family faced furore after it was revealed the King’s brother had been living in the 30-room mansion on a ‘peppercorn rent’ since 2003 (Alan Hunt/Geograph;Getty)The committee said it will now launch an inquiry into the Crown Estate’s property leases to the royal family as it published the correspondence on Tuesday.
It said Andrew gave the minimum 12 month’s notice that he would surrender the property on October 30, and would have been entitled to the for ending his tenancy on October 30 2026 if no repairs were needed.
The Crown Estate said though it was unlikely he would receive compensation, a “full and thorough assessment” must be carried out first post-occupation by an expert.
Committee chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said: “We would like to thank The Crown Estate Commissioners and HM Treasury for their considered responses to our questions.
“In publishing these responses, the Public Accounts Committee fulfils one of its primary purposes – to aid transparency in public-interest information, as part of its overall mission to secure value for money for the taxpayer.
“Having reflected on what we have received, the information provided clearly forms the beginnings of a basis for an inquiry. The National Audit Office supports the scrutiny function of this Committee.
“We now await the conclusions the NAO will draw from this information, and plan to hold an inquiry based on the resulting evidence base in the new year.”
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