Andrew earned over £2,000 a month subletting Royal Lodge cottages, MPs' report says

The UK Parliament's Public Accounts Committee reported on Friday, November 6, that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was receiving just over £2,000 a month from subletting three cottages at his former home, Royal Lodge, for less than a year from late 2021 — while paying no rent for the property himself. The committee recommended that the Crown Estate should prohibit subletting as the default position in future leases, unless the landlord agrees in advance. (Photo: Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, file image.)

A 75-year lease at a peppercorn rent

Andrew took on a 75-year lease for Royal Lodge in 2003 and paid about £7.5 million towards its renovation and other charges, which meant he did not have to pay rent — a peppercorn arrangement. Yet as a tenant he intermittently sublet three cottages that were part of the property, keeping the income for himself rather than his landlord, the Crown Estate. The report says one cottage was let at below market rate to an in-situ tenant who worked for the Royal Family for most of the 22-year tenancy, with rent charged as a percentage of salary.

Figures come from a letter by the Keeper of the Privy Purse

The figures were revealed in a letter dated September 7, 2026, from James Chalmers, the Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the King, to the committee. The information came from the household of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor and was shared with his agreement, in the interests of transparency. But Chalmers said he had not had access to the underlying documentation, and the committee said it could not accurately calculate the total subletting income over more than 20 years. Andrew left Royal Lodge in February and now lives on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk; on surrendering the lease he was due about £300,000 in compensation, while the King privately paid £1.5 million in repair costs.

Crown Estate administration costs up 129% in five years

The report also found the Crown Estate's administration costs had risen by 129% since 2020–21, while chief executive Dan Labbad's salary rose by 106% over the same period, with a 2025–26 pay package worth £2.3 million. The committee asked him to submit a plan for managing costs, and concluded the Crown Estate had not identified specific lessons from the Royal Lodge lease arrangement. The future use of Royal Lodge has yet to be decided. A Crown Estate spokeswoman said it was considering the report's findings and would respond in due course. The Crown Estate is an independent property company that pays its profits to the Treasury.