Shamed Prince Andrew has not paid rent for lavish Royal Lodge mansion for over two decades, leasehold agreement reveals

THE disgraced Prince Andrew has not paid rent for his lavish Royal Lodge mansion for over two decades.

A copy of the leasehold agreement for the sprawling estate revealed that the shamed royal has dodged annual payments for years, as the King continues efforts to force him out the home.

The agreement, obtained by The Times, shows the terms under which the prince lives on the decadent 30-room estate.

It reveals that he has paid “one peppercorn (if demanded)” in rent per year.

While he did pay an eye-watering £1 million for the lease, as well as at least £7.5 million for refurbishments, the royal hasn’t paid rent since 2003.

Prince Andrew, 65, and his family are entitled to live in the property until 2078.

Once more, the grand home has been described as his “last status symbol.”

But this new revelation will pile pressure on Prince Andrew to give up the seven-bed mansion entirely.

The agreement also includes a clause stating that the Crown Estate, which manages Crown properties for the benefit of the taxpayer, would need to pay Andrew roughly £558,000 if he gave up the lease.

This “compensatory sum” is worked out at £185,865 for each remaining year of the agreement up to 2028.

The Crown Estate disclosed an unredacted version of the lease, after receiving mounting pressure from MPs and campaigners.

Royal Lodge is a sprawling 40 hectare estate in the heart of Windsor Great Park.

The grade II listed property is complete with a gardener’s residence, six cottages for live-in staff and a “police suite” that homes the security officers.

It has long been said that Andrew could not be removed by legal force until 2078 because of an “iron-clad” leasehold agreement.

However, King Charles has sought to persuade Andrew to give up his right to the estate, and instead move into Frogmore Cottage – a more modest four-bedroom home recently renovated by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

This attempt to re-home the disgraced royal follows the recent stripping of his titles, and has been dubbed the siege of Royal Lodge.

The 25-page lease agreement contains several standard clauses, including a requirement that “no part of the premises shall be used for any illegal or immoral purpose”, or “any act or thing whatsoever which may be or become a nuisance, annoyance or disturbance to the landlord or the owner.”

If he agrees to give up the lease, Andrew will receive £557,595.

After that, he would receive no further compensation.

A National Audit Office report from 2005 recorded that the lease’s commercial terms were reviewed by two independent advisers.

It also recorded that without the prince’s input, the refurbishment works would have been paid by the Crown Estate.

The works were largely complete by 2005.

The Crown Estate confirmed Royal Lodge is now held on a peppercorn rent, and a value “nil” was recorded in the NAO report. 

Andrew must continue to pay for the buildings’ upkeep.

The NAO report noted the lease to Andrew was “appropriate in view of the over-riding need to maintain close management control over Royal Lodge.”

But it also accepted that this “need clearly constrained the Crown Estate’s ability to realise the highest market value for such a property.”

This revelation comes after The Sun reported earlier this week that the humiliated prince was forced to give up all his royal titles in the wake of resurfaced the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

In an almighty fall from grace, the former Duke of York, 65, stepped down after King Charles and Prince William told him to quit.

At 7pm on October 17 Andrew released a terse statement through Buckingham Palace.

It read: “In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.

“I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first.

“I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.

“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further.

“I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me.

“As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”

He will no longer use his Duke of York title, given to him by the late Queen Elizabeth II on July 23, 1986, the day of his wedding to Sarah Ferguson.

He has also given up his role as a member of the Order of the Garter, the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in the UK, which he was given in 2006.

Palace sources confirmed he will not be invited to Christmas celebrations at Sandringham.

And he is likely to be banished from all future royal events.

On the Royal Lodge, Baroness Hodge of Barking, the former chair of the Commons public accounts committee, said: “The Crown Estate is owned by us, and the onus is on those running the estate to maximise our income out of it.

“We should not be treating anyone in a different way.”