Former prince Andrew made money on cottage sublets at his rent-free estate - BERITAJA

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known arsenic Prince Andrew, made money subletting cottages astatine his royal residence, wherever he lived rent-free for 2 decades, according to a study connected the Royal Family’s properties released by the U.K. nationalist spending watchdog connected Friday.

The National Audit Office study said the erstwhile prince had received income from renting retired 3 cottages connected the Royal Lodge estate, “with income generated payable to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor,” his location adjacent Windsor Castle.

“These properties person been vacant since April 2026,” it added.

It besides said his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, reside successful rent-controlled homes, owned by the Crown, and paid for by their uncle, King Charles III.

The rents connected Eugenie’s cottage connected the grounds of Kensington Palace successful London and Beatrice’s location astatine St. James’s Palace, besides successful London, are group astatine a information of the open-market value, which could alteration significantly, the audit says. In some instances, rents are paid retired of the Privy Purse, the King’s backstage funds.

The princesses are not considered “working” royals pinch nationalist duties and some activity different jobs.

A lease for Royal Lodge, signed successful 2003, shows Mountbatten-Windsor paid only a nominal fee, known arsenic a “peppercorn rent,” for the property, which included a 30-room mansion and 8 cottages, 3 of which he was allowed to sublet.

The study shows that 11 are granted free lodging connected palace properties successful speech for their nationalist duties, including King Charles and Queen Camilla, Prince William and his woman Catherine, arsenic good arsenic the king’s youngest brother, Prince Edward, and his woman Sophie.

William and Catherine besides person a family location adjacent Windsor, for which they salary 307,200 pounds (about CAD $571,000) a year, The Associated Press reported.

The magnitude the erstwhile prince made from the rental properties was not disclosed successful the report, an omission noted by Margaret Hodge, a Labour personnel of the House of Lords, arsenic a origin for concern.

“It’s shocking that the National Audit Office was not capable to found really overmuch money Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor secured from the properties he let,” she said.

The audit was conducted astatine the petition of lawmakers aft Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles and forced to vacate his location amid revelations about his alleged ties to the precocious convicted activity offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Mountbatten-Windsor moved earlier this twelvemonth to the Sandringham estate, a royal residence successful eastbound England.

He was arrested and questioned by constabulary successful February complete allegations of misconduct successful nationalist office.

While Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied immoderate wrongdoing successful relationship pinch his ties pinch Epstein and has not been charged, concerns about his links to the disgraced financier person dogged the Royal Family for much than a decade.

Buckingham Palace said the audit agency study “is successful statement pinch the royal household’s committedness to transparency. We dream that the findings will thief correct, explain aliases contextualize a number of points regarding royal properties.”

— pinch files from The Associated Press