Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor receives eye-watering sum after being forced to give up Royal Lodge lease

LEAVE A COMMENT The King has privately made funds available for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s repair and restoration costs on Royal Lodge.

It's understood that Charles made the money available to his disgraced younger brother through his private income to ensure the Crown Estate was reimbursed.

On Friday, it was announced that Andrew’s lease on his former home in Windsor Great Park had been officially surrendered – with the Crown Estate receiving £1.5 million after £302,000 compensation he was entitled to was deducted from the £1.8 million in dilapidation costs.

The funds made available by the King will cover the £1.5 million payment.

Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, lived at the Grade II-listed 30-room property for nearly two decades, paying a "peppercorn" sum in rent.

He has since relocated to Marsh Farm, a five-bedroom home on King Charles's Sandringham Estate, where he lives in effective exile from public life.

A Crown Estate spokesperson said the former prince paid £1.8 million in repair and restoration costs as the lease was handed back more than 50 years early.

Andrew was entitled to compensation because, as per the terms of his lease, he surrendered it within the first 25 years.

The Crown Estate spokesperson said: "The lease for Royal Lodge has ended and our focus now is firmly on its future use and the opportunities to generate additional financial value for the nation from its early return."

However, in December last year, the Crown Estate told MPs it was not believed Andrew would receive compensation for the early surrender of the lease once repair and restoration costs were taken into account.

In the letter to the Commons Public Accounts Committee, the Crown Estate added: “Before this position can be fully validated, however, a full and thorough assessment must be undertaken post-occupation by an expert in dilapidation”.

A compensation clause was added into the terms of the lease because of Andrew’s 2005 payment of £7.5 million for refurbishment at the 30-room property, the spokesperson added.

Speaking on A Right Royal Podcast previously, HELLO!'s Royal Editor Emily Nash explained: "Andrew could still receive hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation for having left Royal Lodge before the end of his lease. That is something that I think will really upset people given everything that has gone on."

However, she explained that any amount would depend on the state the property had been left in. Royal Lodge was widely reported to be in disrepair after its upkeep was neglected by Andrew, with pictures showing peeling paint on its exterior and "issues needing fixing".

"It just shows this problem isn't going away," Emily said.

In June, a National Audit Office investigation revealed that the late Queen’s second son received an undisclosed private income from subletting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate while paying a peppercorn rent for more than two decades.

The Crown Estate spokesperson said the property will now be marketed by two nationally recognised agents for its proposed future use.

This comes after it was revealed that the disgraced former Prince is taking legal action against Thames Valley Police over his arrest in February, alleging that "personal items" were taken from his home.

The King's private funds will not be used to fund the police action, it is understood.

A hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday saw both sides reach an agreement that the search warrants that allowed officers to raid two of his properties earlier this year were unlawful.

However, the criminal probe into whether he is guilty of misconduct in public office during his time as UK trade envoy will continue.

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