Ex-Prince Andrew Charged His Staff Rent While Beatrice and Eugenie Had Theirs Paid for By King Charles, Report Reveals
Ex-Prince Andrew Charged His Staff Rent While Beatrice and Eugenie Had Theirs Paid for By King Charles, Report Reveals
Simon PerryFri, June 5, 2026 at 12:31 PM UTC
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor; Princess Beatrice and Princess EugenieCredit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty; Dave Benett/Getty -
New details have been released regarding the former Prince Andrew's property arrangements in a report about the royal family's residences
The report was compiled by the U.K. government's National Audit Office in the wake of questions following revelations about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's links with Jeffrey Epstein
It has found Andrew charged rent on three sub-let properties, and that his daughters pay nothing for their royal homes
The former Prince Andrew charged his staff to live in cottages on his Windsor estate despite only paying a minimal rent for his huge mansion, while his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, live in their palace apartments paid for by their uncle King Charles, a new report has revealed.
The financial arrangements covering the royals have been laid bare in a report from a U.K. public spending watchdog for the first time in more than 20 years. It found that Andrew sub-let three of eight properties on his Royal Lodge estate, where he lived until he was exiled from it in February of this year.
Meanwhile, Charles, 77, pays the costs for his nieces Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 36, via what is known as the Privy Purse, which includes what he receives from the Duchy of Lancaster that funds the Sovereign's work.
The report, compiled by the U.K. government's National Audit Office (NAO), was released in the wake of revelations that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor paid a minimal "peppercorn rent" for living in his former mansion, the Royal Lodge.
Former Prince Andrew in London in September 2025Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty
He was ordered to leave that residence, where he lived since 2003 on the Windsor Home Park estate, after he was stripped of his royal titles and royal honors by his brother, Charles, in October 2025. The decision came amid Andrew's ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein, the American financier and convicted sex offender who died while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges in August 2019.
On Feb. 19, Mountbatten-Windsor's 66th birthday, he was arrested at his new home on the Sandringham Estate on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
While living at the Royal Lodge, Andrew paid what is known as a token "peppercorn rent" as he had made a significant capital investment — widely-reported to be around $10 million — in refurbishment costs in advance in lieu of market rent. It is an established practice in long-leasehold residential properties.
Regarding the NAO report, a royal source said that the properties had been let out to staff or former staff and their families to cover running or maintenance costs, and didn't generate profit for the former Duke of York, who was pictured with a mystery bruise on his face on Thursday, June 4. It is unknown, the report stated, how much Mountbatten-Windsor charged or received over the years.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is spotted with a bruise on his cheek on June 4, 2026Credit: Bav Media / SplashNews.com
The report added that Mountbatten-Windsor might be due around $400,000 (just over £300,000) in compensation for surrendering his lease early. However, so-called "dilapidation costs" are set to be assessed and set against that. PEOPLE understands that any building and decoration works is likely to cost more than that.
A photo of the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, taken in January 2015Credit: Roland Hoskins/ANL/Shutterstock
Meanwhile, the full details of the arrangements for Andrew's daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, have become clear, too. The princesses, who both have homes elsewhere, use the palaces as London second homes.
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The arrangement was put in place by the princesses' late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, and King Charles has continued with it, a royal source says, paying it from the Privy Purse. That is made up of what he receives from the Duchy of Lancaster estate and his own private finance.
A photo of St. James's Palace, London, where Princess Beatrice has an apartmentCredit: David South / Alamy Stock Photo
The Royal Household typically charges around 60% of the market rate for rent as it recognizes that the security cordon that includes the palace restricts those who can be allowed to live there, as any resident needs security clearance.
The arrangements for Beatrice — who has an apartment at St. James's Palace, London — and Eugenie, who lives at Ivy Cottage in Kensington Palace, will raise questions because both princesses have their own independent careers, are not working royals and therefore don't contribute to supporting the public-backed work of the royal family. They are also married to husbands and have homes elsewhere. A royal source points out that financial arrangements are kept under regular review.
Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, live in the rural Cotswolds, England with their daughters Sienna, 4, and Athena, 1, as well as Edo's son Wolfie, while Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, who are expecting their third child, and their sons August, 5, and Ernest, 3, split their time between Portugal and London.
A photo of Kensington Palace, London, where Princess Eugenie lives in a cottage in its groundsCredit: Getty
The NAO report also found that the Crown estate spent around $500,000 (£400,000) refurbishing the new "forever home" home for Kate Middleton and Prince William, Forest Lodge on the Windsor estate, before they moved in last fall. In a briefing by the Crown Estate, it was explained that the couple's lease — which runs for 20 years — was established at "open market rent," with two independent valuers appointed to assess the property.
Princess Beatrice in London in March 2025Credit: Dave Benett/Getty
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The report noted that there are 11 members of the royal family who have seven properties in the occupied palaces at no cost, in "exchange for their royal duties." The examination of the royal property portfolio has been carried out to lay out the facts, but will be examined closely by lawmakers in the U.K.
Princess Eugenie in June 2025Credit: Dave Benett/Getty
"We are grateful to the National Audit Office for this report, which is in line with The Royal Household's commitment to transparency. We hope that the findings will help correct, clarify or contextualize a number of points regarding Royal properties," a Buckingham Palace spokesman said in a statement to PEOPLE.
The spokesperson continued, "As the report notes, arrangements for properties managed by the Royal Household vary based on a number of factors to ensure residences are filled appropriately, depending on their location, tenants and purpose."
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