Andrew was sub-letting Royal Lodge cottages, watchdog reveals

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received an undisclosed rental income from sub-letting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate that he leased from the Crown Estate, the public spending watchdog has revealed.

The National Audit Office (NAO) report also revealed that the King pays the rent for accommodation in royal palaces for Mountbatten-Windsor's daughters Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, who are not working royals.

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

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the report was "in line with the Royal Household's commitment to transparency".

The watchdog report into royal residences shows that Princess Eugenie has a property in Kensington Palace and Princess Beatrice in St James's Palace.

They do not pay any rent for this central London accommodation, instead it is paid by the "privy purse", which is the monarch's personal money, to the Royal Household.

Both of the palaces are maintained by public funding, through the Sovereign Grant.

Norman Baker, former Home Office minister and critic of royal finances, said it was "outrageous to subsidise luxury accommodation" in this way and that the public was "being taken for a ride".

He said such arrangements should no longer be sustainable and that "deference is wearing thin indeed".

A Palace source said that the rent paid on these properties for non-working royals would cover any publicly-funded expenditure, so 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 rent is paid on the princesses' palace property, but the level is meant to be 60% of the open market rate.

The NAO report was prompted by the scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor - and will be followed by an inquiry by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee.

It shows a collection of 12 properties used by Mountbatten-Windsor and his family.

Even though Mountbatten-Windsor left Royal Lodge earlier this year, moving to Sandringham in Norfolk, he still has the lease on Royal Lodge until October 2026.

There is no suggestion in the NAO report of any wrongdoing by Mountbatten-Windsor.

As well as the main building at Royal Lodge, there were another eight nearby properties, with Mountbatten-Windsor's lease allowing three of these cottages to be sub-let, which he did until April 2026.

The report does not say how much he received in rental income, but Palace sources suggest he rented the property to staff or retired staff and the amount was only enough to cover running costs.

Whatever the amount, it went to Mountbatten-Windsor rather than the Crown Estate, which would pay its profits back to the Treasury.