Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sub-let three Royal Lodge properties

The National Audit Office report shows the former prince received an undisclosed rental income from the three sub-lets on the Royal Lodge estate.

This report was prompted by Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s involvement in the Epstein scandal and will be followed by an inquiry by Westminster’s public accounts committee.

This is the first report into royal residences in 20 years, and shows Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, his family and staff had 12 properties owned by the Crown Estate or the Royal Household.

He paid £7.5 million for repairs when he took on the lease for the Royal Lodge, and that meant he did not have to pay a monthly rent.

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Even though Mr Mountbatten-Windsor left the Royal Lodge earlier this year and moved to Sandringham, he holds the lease on the estate until October.

The cottages were sublet until April 2026, and while the report does not detail how much he received in rental income, palace sources suggest they were rented out to staff or retired staff and that it only covered running costs.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing in the report.

The report also revealed that his daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, have their rent in royal palaces paid for by King Charles III, despite neither being working royals.

Princess Eugenie has a property in Kensington Palace and Princess Beatrice has one in St James’s Palace. The rent on both accommodations is paid for by the privy purse (the monarch’s personal money), and both palaces are maintained by public funding through the Sovereign Grant.

A palace source has told the BBC that any rent paid on these properties for non-working royals would cover any publicly funded expenditure, and therefore there would be no extra cost to the Sovereign Grant, which pays for the official duties of the monarchy.

The report does not specify how much the rent is, but the level is meant to be 60 per cent of the open market rate.

The report also revealed the Crown Estate paid for almost £400,000 of repairs before the Prince and Princess of Wales moved into Forest Lodge in Windsor, and that non-working royal Princess Michael of Kent has a property in Kensington Palace paid for by the privy purse.

Eleven working royals have accommodation in various palaces without charge in exchange for their official duties. A further 21 royal post-holders, including 17 military knights, have accommodation without charge in other palaces.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: “We hope that the findings will help correct, clarify or contextualise a number of points regarding royal properties.

“As the report notes, arrangements for properties managed by the Royal Household vary based on a number of factors to ensure residences are filled appropriately, depending on their location, tenants and purpose.”

A spokesperson for the Crown Estate added: “The Crown Estate welcomes the National Audit Office’s review which confirms its leases with members of the royal family were agreed in line with independent, professional advice and open market valuations.”