A report has revealed that the Duke of Edinburgh paid the market rate for his 120-room Surrey mansion, as scrutiny of Prince Andrew’s Royal Lodge lease continues. According to The Times, a National Audit Office report shows that while Prince Edward had to pay a “market value” for Bagshot Park until at least 2007, Andrew never did.
The Grade-II listed estate was leased to Edward for just £5,000 a year for 50 years in March 1998, but the sum later increased to £90,000 a year, described as “market value,” after the Prince paid £1.36 million to help with renovations, with the Crown Estate covering the remaining £3 million in refurbishment costs.
However, it is not known whether Edward continued to pay a market rent on his royal home after the lease was reportedly extended for 150 years for £5 million in 2007, with The Times reporting that further details were redacted on the Land Registry.
It comes after it emerged last week that the former Duke of York was contracted to pay only “one peppercorn, if demanded” for his 30-room Windsor property. The newspaper revealed that Andrew paid no rent on Royal Lodge after contributing £7.5 million for refurbishments completed in 2005, having taken over the lease in 2003.
Peppercorn rent is a legal term describing the symbolic payment of rent by Andrew to the Crown Estate. It is a nominal or token amount that satisfies the legal requirements of the contract stating that the Prince would pay rent on the property, but it is so low an amount that its function is more symbolic than anything else. The revelation has seen MPs raise concerns over whether Andrew’s lease arrangements are “achieving the best value for money” and whether the costs of any works had been funded by the taxpayer.
Bagshot Park’s history
The Grade-II listed home, located near Bagshot, 11 miles south of Windsor, was originally a series of small lodges, built for King Charles I, before being demolished in 1877. Two years later, the property as it is seen today, was rebuilt for Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught with 120 rooms.
© Getty ImagesBagshot Park
The Duke, who was a son of Queen Victoria, used Bagshot Park as his principal residence from 1880 until his death in 1942. The property was then used by the Army for their Auxiliary Territorial Service to use as their staff college before it was offered to the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department.
© David Hartley/ShutterstockThe conservatory at Bagshot Park
The royal residence was then gifted to Prince Edward and his Sophie by the late Queen Elizabeth II before their nuptials at St George’s Chapel in Windsor in 1999. The couple have brought up their children, Lady Louise Windsor, 21, and James, Earl of Wessex, 17, at Bagshot Park and shared glimpses of their home during lockdown, which includes offices, a billiards room and a glass conservatory.
Where will Prince Andrew move to?
Talks between Andrew and Buckingham Palace officials over the Prince vacating the Windsor property began last week. HELLO! understands that Frogmore Cottage and Adelaide Cottage were options offered to Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, several months ago.
© ShutterstockPrince Andrew has lived at Royal Lodge since 2003
Frogmore Cottage is the former home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who officially stepped back as senior royals in 2020. It was converted from separate staff apartments to a five-bedroom home for the Sussexes, undergoing £2.4 million of renovations, which the couple later repaid in full.
The Prince and Princess of Wales will soon move out of Adelaide Cottage to nearby Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park. The couple and their children relocated from Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace in London to the four-bedroom cosy Windsor cottage in 2022, ahead of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis enrolling at nearby Lambrook School. It was once a grace-and-favour residence of Captain Peter Townsend, equerry to King George VI, in the 1940s. The property underwent major renovations in 2015.
© Getty ImagesPrince Andrew relinquished all of his royal titles and honours this month
Pressure has mounted on Prince Andrew to give up the mansion amid a string of scandals, including his connections to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and allegations published by Virginia Giuffre in her posthumous memoir, which the Prince vehemently denies.
