FREELOADING Prince Andrew has paid his water rates only occasionally at his rent-free mansion — while bills for the rest of Britain have rocketed by hundreds of pounds.
Details of his extraordinary 75-year cut-price lease for Royal Lodge sparked fury yesterday after they revealed he is required to pay towards maintenance only.
The revelations sparked calls for Andrew, 65, to be kicked out of his 30-room mansion in Windsor, where he continues to live despite relinquishing his Duke of York title in disgrace last week.
He is likely to have avoided thousands in water bills since moving in back in 2003, while Brits struggle to pay theirs.
Water at Royal Lodge is supplied by Affinity Water, costing around £375 a year, with sewerage from Thames Water around £368.
That means the yearly bill would be around £743, but is likely to be higher as the property is metered.
READ MORE ON PRINCE ANDREW
However, according to documents seen by The Sun, Andrew was only required to pay his water bills “from time to time”.
Meanwhile, the average British household has seen bills rise by 168 per cent since 2001.
In January, a £123 average hike was announced, with the regulator acknowledging “the challenge that some customers are facing with increasing financial pressures”.
Andrew has also paid no rent for more than 20 years.
The revelation sparked anger from MPs and trafficking survivors of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, whose links to Andrew continue to haunt the shamed royal.
Epstein survivor Marijke Chartouni urged Andrew to leave Royal Lodge and donate rental income to charity.
She said: “Prince Andrew should get out, rent it out at market rate and donate the proceeds to a victims’ charity, or let it become a refuge for trafficking survivors.”
It comes after The Sun on Sunday revealed that Andrew lied about when he cut contact with Epstein, telling him in an email “we’re in this together”.
Lawyer Spencer Kuvin, who represents Epstein survivors, insisted he should now fend for himself.
He said: “I think it is an absolute disgrace to the British population that they are subsidising Andrew at this point given the information that is out there in the public regarding his actions.
“Andrew should be left to support himself for the rest of his life and not continue on the public dole.”
He took on Royal Lodge after the death of the Queen Mother, and the Crown Estate lease imposes conditions which could lead to his eviction if they are not met.
They also cast doubt on his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson’s right to live there as it states it can only be the “principal residence” for the Prince, his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie or his “widow”.
‘Siege of Royal Lodge’
Andrew was cut off financially by King Charles last year but is believed to have received millions in his late mother Queen Elizabeth II’s will.
Andrew should be left to support himself for the rest of his life and not continue on the public dole
Lawyer Spencer Kuvin
However, insiders say the repair and maintenance bills at Royal Lodge are “crippling” and Andrew now has few avenues of income.
One said: “Andrew would have received millions of pounds from his mother when she died.
“But he really doesn’t feel like he has as much money as people think he does and feels quite brassic.”
The lease insists he puts two coats of paint on outside walls every seven years and decorates inside every five years.
All work must be done in a “workmanlike manner” and to the “Landlord’s satisfaction”, the lease states.
Incredibly, the terms also say “that no part of the Premises shall be used for any illegal or immoral purpose”.
Andrew must also maintain the 100-acre grounds, including keeping it “clean and tidy and free from weeds”, and “prune” the trees.
King Charles has been pressuring his brother to move out amid the scandal surrounding Andrew’s sex accuser Virginia Giuffre, whose posthumous memoir is to be published following her death earlier this year.
But he is refusing to budge in what some have dubbed the “Siege of Royal Lodge”.
Protesters yesterday unveiled a banner reading “Investigate The Royals” at the gates of Royal Lodge.
There were calls last night for the National Audit Office to carry out its first review into the lease agreements since 2005.
There were also demands for the independent Crown Estate to force him to quit or renegotiate the lease.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: “I don’t think the taxpayer should in any way be footing the bill for him to live in luxury homes ever again.
“He shouldn’t have any taxpayer subsidies going forward. It’s about time Prince Andrew took himself off to live in private and make his own way in life. He has disgraced himself.
“He has embarrassed the Royal Family time and again.”
Downing Street said the Crown Estate’s arrangement with the King’s brother was “appropriate”.
He should show some contrition by returning every penny of rent that he’s not paid while disgracing his office
Lib Dem MP Lisa Smart
But Lib Dem MP Lisa Smart said: “Andrew has failed our King and the Royal Family and betrayed the values of the British people.
“The longer this whole sorry saga goes on, the more his presence in public life is an insult and increasingly an embarrassment.
“He should show some contrition by returning every penny of rent that he’s not paid while disgracing his office.”
If Andrew were to hand back the tenancy before it runs out in 2078, then he could receive more than £500,000 in compensation.
Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier said her powerful Public Accounts Committee could look into the scandal.
She added: “Where money flows, particularly where taxpayers’ money is involved, or taxpayers’ interests are involved, Parliament has a responsibility to have a light shine upon that, and we need to have answers.”
Several MPs have also demanded Sir Keir Starmer pass legislation to formally strip Andrew of his dukedom.
Eighteen have backed an SNP motion to revoke the title by Act of Parliament – while several more have publicly called for it.
Meanwhile, a YouGov poll has shown that 80 per cent of Brits also support the move.
It found that 63 per cent were “strongly” in favour after Andrew relinquished his Duke of York title last Friday.
The Crown Estate refused last night to say if Andrew had carried out work required by the lease.
Sarah, who divorced Andrew in 1996, moved in with him in 2008 and is believed to use half the mansion.
Her finances have also been hit.
Charity patronages distanced themselves after The Sun on Sunday revealed she described Epstein as her “supreme friend” in an email and apologised to him for calling him a paedophile.
A pal of Sarah’s said last night: “She is being supportive to their children and trying to keep everything together and being strong.”
Buckingham Palace and the Crown Estate declined to comment last night.
INSIDE 30-ROOM HOUSE
By Mike Ridley
PRINCE Andrew spends much of his time in 30-room Royal Lodge watching a giant TV and playing video games.
He goes riding twice a week but lives a solitary life in the £30million mansion.
The 19th Century building has a grand entrance hall boasting an intricate wooden ceiling.
There is a large drawing room, a conservatory and indoor pool plus 98 acres of grounds including staff cottages and police security accommodation.
Yet royal author Ingrid Seward said: “His life is very empty, he’s very lonely.
“At least when his mother was alive he had a reason to go out during the day to take tea or lunch with the Queen.
“I think he’s probably extremely bored.”
