Andrew to give up his lease on another royal home as arrest fallout continues

By Victoria Ward

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is to give up the lease on his remaining Crown Estate property.

The former Duke of York had retained East Lodge, a Grade II-listed cottage located near his former home, Sunninghill Park, in Berkshire.

The single-storey thatched cottage is thought to have been used as staff accommodation and was subject to an annual rent of almost £13,000.

However, the Crown Estate has now revealed in response to a freedom of information request by the BBC that an application had been made to "consider an early termination of the lease".

The King removed his younger brother's remaining titles and forced him to surrender the lease on Royal Lodge, his Windsor home, last October.

In the wake of "serious and disturbing" allegations made about Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's links to Jeffrey Epstein, and a public outcry over his peppercorn rent, MPs demanded an explanation of his living arrangements at Royal Lodge.

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The public accounts committee subsequently ordered an inquiry into how Crown Estate properties are managed and whether they offer value for money for the taxpayer.

The spending watchdog then published information about the various leases held by members of the Royal family.

It included details about a lease agreement made by Mr Mountbatten-Windsor in February 1998 for a member of staff on commercial terms at East Lodge, Sunninghill Park.

At the time, it was said that the member of staff continued to reside in this property, and that the lease had not yet been surrendered.

The initial £3,500 annual rent paid to the Crown Estate gradually increased with inflation to reach £12,922 last summer, according to the BBC, seemingly well below market value.

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor also previously held a separate lease for North Lodge, on the same estate, for a member of staff. That lease was given up after 20 years, and the cottage is now let to a third party.

The public accounts committee inquiry is expected to be launched in June after the National Audit Office updates its review of the Crown Estate. MPs on the committee have not ruled out calling in members of the Royal family to give evidence.

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor in February relocated to Wood Farm, a private property on the King's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, which was later raided by police, who arrested him on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The Crown Estate – a vast portfolio of land and property – belongs to the reigning monarch "in right of the Crown", but it is not their private property.

It is run as an independent business, with profits paid directly to the Treasury. A proportion of the money – known as the Sovereign Grant – is then handed to the Royal family to support its official duties.

The Crown Estate confirmed that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor intended to surrender the lease on East Lodge.

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