Calls for Prince Andrew to vacate his 30-room mansion on the Windsor Estate continue, as the King’s brother struggles to draw a line under his controversial relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew, who strenuously denies any wrongdoing, said he would give up his titles as revelations in the posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused him of sexual assault, intensified the spotlight on him.
Also in the spotlight is Royal Lodge, the mansion where he has lived for more than 20 years, paying a “peppercorn rent” – a legal term used to show that rent technically exists, so the lease is valid, but it’s nominal – often £1 a year or even nothing at all.
Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have now agreed to leave the property in exchange for two separate residences, an anonymous source told The Sun newspaper.
The prince is said to be in talks with the King’s representatives about leaving the mansion voluntarily – so where could he end up moving to?
Frogmore Cottage
The former home of Prince Harry and Meghan has reportedly been requested by Andrew, according to The Sun.
The King reportedly first offered Frogmore Cottage to Andrew in January 2023 after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved out, but the former duke turned it down.
The Grade-II listed property, which is owned by the Crown Estate, is close to Windsor Castle but is on a secluded part of the grounds of the larger Frogmore House.
Originally built on the orders of Queen Charlotte in the 1800s, the property was gifted to Harry and Meghan by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2019.
The couple were responsible for major works to the cottage that turned five properties back into a single home for them and their son Archie.
When Harry and Meghan quit as senior working royals in March 2020, they repaid the £2.4m of taxpayers’ money spent on the cottage. All fittings and fixtures were privately paid for by the couple at the time.
The home was then temporarily occupied by Princess Eugenie – Prince Andrew’s youngest daughter – and her husband, Jack Brooksbank.
Analysis: No simple solution to Royal Lodge problem
Adelaide Cottage
Sarah Ferguson may reportedly live separately from Andrew for the first time since 2008 by moving to Adelaide Cottage after it is vacated by the Prince and Princess of Wales next month.
William, Kate and their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, have lived in the property since 2022, but are due to move into Forest Lodge, an eight-bedroom house in the Windsor Estate’s Great Park.
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The Grade-II listed, four-bedroom cottage is minutes from Frogmore Cottage and Windsor Castle.
It has previously been occupied by Peter Townsend, with whom Queen Elizabeth II’s sister Princess Margaret had a relationship, and Simon Rhodes, the son of the late Queen’s cousin Margaret Rhodes.
The lease that has kept Andrew in Royal Lodge
A document from the Crown Estate, which oversees the Royal Family’s land and property holdings, shows Andrew signed a 75-year lease on the Royal Lodge in 2003.
It revealed that instead of paying annual rent, he paid an initial £1m for the lease. Since then, he has paid “one peppercorn” of rent “if demanded” each year.
The prince was also required to pay an additional £7.5m for refurbishments to the mansion, which were completed in 2005, according to a report by the National Audit Office – taking the total he spent on the property to more than £8m.
Despite paying little to no rent, under the terms of the lease, Andrew must ensure the upkeep of the mansion, including repainting the interior – specifically with two coats of paint – every seven years and repainting the exterior and cleaning and repointing the outside stone and cement work every five years.
It says the prince is required to “paper, polish and decorate” and treat the inside of the seven-bedroom home respectfully.
It still remains unclear how Andrew pays for such costs, after the King ended any financial support for his brother last year.
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Ben Mayfield, a lecturer in law at Lancaster University, told the PA news agency it would likely prove problematic to end Andrew’s 75-year lease early – unless he voluntarily does so.
This is partly because of a clause in the lease that states the Crown Estate would have to pay Andrew around £558,000 if he gave it up.
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The lease is due to expire in June 2078, going way beyond the 65-year-old prince’s lifetime.
The government has so far refused to allocate time in the House of Commons for MPs to discuss Andrew’s situation because the royal family wants Parliament to focus on “important issues”.
But the issue could be raised on one of the days when ministers are not in control of the parliamentary timetable.
