Former prince Andrew made money by subletting cottages during his time at Royal Lodge.
The younger brother of King Charles lived at the thirty room residence for over twenty years.
Now, a new report has revealed he was allowed to sublet cottages belonging to the property and rented out three residences during his time there.
The investigation, by the National Audit Office, was unable to identify how much money Andrew made by letting the cottages.
During his two decades at Royal Lodge, on the Windsor estate, he paid only a peppercorn rent. This is a small, nominal fee – usually a peppercorn. The arrangement was made in exchange for him funding extensive renovations at the property. It’s understood the peppercorns were never asked for or handed over.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor gave up his tenancy of Royal Lodge and moved to the Sandringham estate earlier this year. He now lives in a property belonging to his brother, The King.
Royal Lodge and the cottages he sublet are part of the Crown Estate.
The report also confirmed that Andrew is entitled to compensation after voluntarily giving up the tenancy of Royal Lodge early. It estimates he is owed around £301, 000. However, this will be set against the cost of repairs that will need to be made to the property following his residence there. It is believed these dilapidation costs will cancel out any money owed.
The report into the royal residences also revealed that Andrew’s two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, have homes within royal palaces which attract a rent set at around 60% of market value in the area. The report also revealed that the cost of this rent is covered by The King, meaning that neither princess pays for their central London homes.
Neither Beatrice nor Eugenie is a working member of the Royal Family and both have private homes outside the capital.
The NAO report outlined which royals are living on property owned by the Crown estate. Currently, properties belonging to the estate are let to the Prince and Princess of Wales who have a twenty year lease on Forest Lodge on the Windsor estate. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh live at another Crown estate property, Bagshot Park. Princess Alexandra, who remains a working royal although her engagements are now much curtailed as she approaches her 90th birthday this year, is a tenant at Thatched Lodge at Richmond.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are also permitted to sublet property at their home and did rent out a stable block there until 2020. Again, figures for the money made in that process are unavailable.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor left Royal Lodge in early 2026, having agreed to move out in October 2025 when King Charles also stripped his brother of his royal titles.
Andrew was arrested in early February by police investigating misconduct in public office and his home at Sandringham as well as his former residence at Royal Lodge were searched. He was later released, after 11 hours of questioning, without charge but under investigation.
